Lucky You
by TheRaggedEdge
Summary: Deeks has to get used to an undercover op with another agent whilst Kensi is injured. Neither expect the reactions they get.
1. Chapter 1

Deeks knew he wasn't ready for this. He didn't really have a choice. It was too late to back out now. But he wasn't ready. And he knew it was painfully obvious to the whole team.

"You and Brookes ready to go in Deeks?"

Deeks glanced over at Special Agent Sandra Brookes, who nodded with a small smile. "On your word, Callen."

"Go ahead."

Deeks swung the door of his car open and stepped out, scanning the hotel parking lot and taking note of the surrounding cars, security cameras, entrances, exits, and any other details he thought may be useful in the future. He then stepped around to the passenger door and opened it, offering his hand to Agent Brookes as she gracefully stepped out.

She had painted her nails and lips bright red, and her brown curls fell loosely across petite shoulders. Deeks thought briefly that any other male agent in his position would be feeling pretty lucky to have Agent Brookes playing their wife for the weekend.

But Deeks had another brunette on his mind. One that was reluctantly sitting back at ops with Eric and Nell, most likely watching him from a security camera.

It was unsettling. It felt unnatural. Unnerving.

And under any other circumstance, there was no way Deeks would agree to go out in the field with anyone other than his partner.

But it was his fault she'd managed to sprain her ankle last week. He inwardly cringed at the memory as he accompanied Brookes, hand in hand, into the hotel lobby.

"Nice place," he commented casually as he strode through the glass doors.

Beside him, Brookes giggled and lightly touched his bicep with her fingertips.

She was playing her role. And it was Deeks' turn to play his. He gently withdrew his fingers from hers and placed his arm lightly around her waist. She looked up at him with a smile, her dark eyes sparkling. He met her gaze as he glanced down at her, but found himself unable to hold it for long. Something about it felt fake. It was fake, of course. But he felt like it looked fake. Something he'd never really felt with Kensi.

"Enjoying yourself there, partner?"

Deeks cringed at the tone in Kensi's voice as it reached his earpiece. He was suddenly very glad that Brookes didn't have one in her ears.

He didn't respond to Kensi's comment. Couldn't respond without it sounding completely out of the blue to anyone listening. But he thought that if he could, he'd probably accuse her of being jealous.

Yep, definitely jealous.

He withdrew his hand from Sandy's waist as they approached the concierge desk. "I have a suite reserved under the name 'Bentley'."

The woman at the desk nodded with a smile and tapped at the computer keyboard. "Kyle and Louise Bentley?"

"That's us," Sandy replied airily.

"You'll be in suite 304. Enjoy your stay." The woman passed a set of card keys to Deeks and gestured towards the elevator.

"Thank-you!" Sandy responded with a little too much enthusiasm and a soft giggle. She wasn't nearly as natural as Kensi at this.

"Her laugh is really starting to bother me," Kensi said through presumably gritted teeth.

Deeks couldn't help but laugh at his partner's response, which earned him a questioning look from Brookes, a look he decided to ignore. It wasn't till they were safely in the elevator that Deeks allowed himself to respond to Kensi. "Someone forget to put sugar in her coffee this morning?" He asked anyone who might be listening.

"Shut up, Deeks."

He looked down at poor Sandy who wore a confused expression. "My partner's in a bad mood this morning," he explained simply.

"Bad choice of words, Deeks," Callen warned.

"Your partner?" Brookes questioned.

"Uh—" Deeks began.

"Agent Blye is not your partner here, Detective. There's a reason I'm here instead of her."

"Did she really just say that?" The agitation in Kensi's voice was clear.

"Careful. She can hear you," Deeks responded to Brookes.

"Change the subject, Deeks," came Eric's solid advice.

And normally, that was advice Deeks would gladly take. But not this time. There was something in Brookes' words that put Deeks on edge.

But what on earth could he say to that though? They reached the hotel suite and he unlocked and opened the door, allowing her to step past him before closing it behind her.

"Kens, you still there?"

"I'm here, Deeks. How's the room?"

"Nice." The words he'd planned to say to say to Brookes seemed to disappear. "How's…wherever you are?"

"Boring."

"Hey!" Deeks heard Nell's disapproving exclamation.

"Can't believe that bimbo's there instead of me."

Deeks glanced over at Sandra who was unpacking her bags in the bedroom. He wanted to agree with Kens. He hated not having her here. He hated that it was his fault. And he hated that this Sandy woman seemed to think she was here because she was better than Kensi. But he didn't say any of that. Didn't know how. And couldn't with Sandy standing in the next room anyway.

Yes Sandy. She'd asked to be called Sandy. At least it was quicker than Agent Brookes. But, unfortunately, longer than just Brookes.

Forcing himself to focus on the situation at hand, he decided to respond in the best way he knew how – with humor. "Missing me, partner?"

He heard Kensi scoff on the other end. "Don't let her hear you call me that."

Deeks slumped onto the couch and felt the tension ease away as he spoke to Kensi. "What have they got you doing back there, anyway?"

"I don't even know, Deeks," she moaned. "I can't believe I'm stuck—"

"She loves it here," Eric interjected.

Deeks smiled. "Staying off that ankle?"

"Yes."

"Not as much as she should be," Nell added.

"Kens…" Deeks shook his head. "You need—"

"I know, Deeks. I know."

"Good."

"Marty, which side of the bed do you sleep on?" Sandy called from the other room.

"Uh…" Deeks' mind raced. She wanted to share the bed? "Kens," he whispered, "Kens, did you get that?"

"Right. You sleep on the right side, Deeks," Kensi reminded him, as if he needed reminding.

"I know that."

What was he supposed to say? He'd been fully expecting to sleep on the couch for the weekend. Hadn't even considered the alternative. Surely this was inappropriate, right? He should tell Hetty, right? Well, maybe not. He'd shared a bed with Kensi when they'd been undercover as a married couple. But Kensi was Kensi. And Brookes was… well, not Kensi.

"Marty?"

"Kensi?" He had no idea why he'd whispered her name. Was he asking her permission? Pfft. No. Definitely not. Was he seeking her approval? No. Probably not. Maybe?

"Answer her!" Kensi sounded mildly amused on the other end of the line. Deeks suddenly wished he could see the expression she currently wore.

"I can't!" He whispered louder than he'd intended.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to," Deeks blurted. He probably sounded like a child to her.

"Oh."

At that moment, Sandy appeared in the doorway that led to the bedroom. She leaned against the door frame and pushed a brown curl out of her face. "Did you hear me, Detective Deeks?"

"Kens, I'll call you later."

"No. Uh-uh. Don't you dare hang up on me."

"Bye." He made an abrupt attempt to end the conversation.

"Deeks." Kensi protested.

"Bye," Nell chirped on the other end.

"Deeks!"

"Bye," came Eric's voice. Deeks realised had almost forgotten the two technical analysts were on the line, a mistake he'd made more than once. A mistake that would no doubt get him into trouble one day.

He reached up and pulled the com out of his ear, shoving it into his pocket. "I'm sorry, what was the question?"

He knew what the question was. Of course he knew. This was stalling. Ever so slightly.

"Do you prefer the right or left side?"

"Of…?"

"Of the bed."

"Oh. We're…you're—I mean, we're assuming—well, you're assuming we'll be, you know…sharing?"

_So eloquent, Deeks._

Sandra turned a light shade of red but her expression didn't change. "I didn't think it'd be a problem. We're both professionals. And our covers are married."

"Right."

She had a point.

"The right side?"

"No, right as in… the other right. As in 'okay'."

"Okay what?" The poor woman was confused, and maybe slightly frustrated.

But Deeks' mind kept going back to Justin and Melissa. With Kensi, it was comfortable. Sure, he'd made his jokes and she'd rolled her eyes. They teased and they bickered. But that was them. Just them. To try and replicate that now… To even come close to accidentally replicating something similar to it… it would be an injustice.

_Thinking way too deeply about this. It's a bed. Let it go._

"I'm uh, I think I'll just take the couch."

"Marty, it's a bed. I don't think Kensi will mind."

What?

A look of genuine shock crossed Deeks' face. "Kensi? You think this is about Kensi?"

"Well, if I was Kensi, you wouldn't mind, right?" Sandy had one hand on her hip. Her tone was suspicious and scolding, and her eyes panned him scathingly. If she was Kensi right now, he might actually find it cute.

_Okay, it's time to stop comparing her to Kensi._

"Yes! No. Wait…"

"I get it, okay? You two are what? Dating? Physically intimate?"

"What? No." Deeks' voice cracked as he denied it, and he cleared his throat, suddenly all too aware that he was not very convincing in his denial. "No. We are partners. She's my partner."

"And that's it?" Sandy asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes! No. Not really. We are friends too, I guess. Well, I don't guess. I mean, I know we're friends. At least I'm pretty sure I'm her friend. But do I care about her? Yes. Platonically. Purely platonically. Are we dating? No. I mean, we hang out. As friends. Platonic friends. Am I in love with her? Uh, no! I don't know how that even came up. We're professional. We're friends. Partners. Good partners with a strong relationship. No. No, no. Not relationship. Friendship. Partnership. Yeah. I'm sorry, what was the question?"

Sandy simply nodded. A bemused, maybe slightly annoyed, definitely disbelieving expression painted right across her face. "Okay then."

She then disappeared into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Deeks leaned back into the couch. This had definitely gotten off on the right foot, he thought sarcastically. The picture of professionalism, he was.

"Partners," he mumbled to himself. "We're partners."

…

Kensi stared at the blank screen in front of her, absentmindedly chewing her left thumb nail. Yeah, so it hadn't been easy watching Deeks go undercover with that Brookes girl. Sandy, was it?

The woman had made a bad impression from the beginning. Unabashedly ogling Deeks, not that Kensi blamed her. Insinuating multiple times that she would do a better job than Kensi the Cripple, not that she had explicitly called Kensi that, but still. Then making that outrageous comment that she was now Deeks' partner? She'd been here four days! And if all went well, she'd be here another week or two maximum.

Deeks was Kensi's partner. They were Deeks and Kensi. No, Kensi and Deeks. She was his partner. Not this new girl. He knew that, right?

She let her mind wander to the last conversation she'd had with Deeks. He hadn't wanted to share a bed with Sandy. That meant something, right? That was a good thing, wasn't it? Not that Kensi would have been upset if he had slept in the same bed as Sandy.

But it'd be weird. Definitely weird.

Bottom line – he was her partner. He was hers. And undercover work – that was theirs. It was their thing. This fake relationship stuff – that was their thing. They'd done it many times. And it was theirs. And the weeks they'd shared undercover as Justin and Melissa – that was theirs too.

Trying not to think before she acted, Kensi withdrew her phone from her pocket and began to type a text message to Deeks. It wasn't her business. She should let it go. He wouldn't be expecting her to ask. But she had to know. She needed to know.

…

'So did she let you have the right side?' Her first message read.

'Couch was more comfortable. I miss you, sugar bear. Don't be mad at me for saying that. If you are, then I'll blame overtiredness.' He responded.

'Really? She's your wife now but I still get the nick names?'

'They're just for you, hun-bun.'

'Lucky me.'

'Lucky you. Night, wifey.'

'Night, hubby.'

'Oh and Deeks – I miss you too. Blame overtiredness.'


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Since this was my first story published, I was initially going to keep this a one shot. But because of some lovely reviews and a fresh burst (somewhat) of inspiration, I decided to continue it. Let me know what you think :)**

It was a rough night on the couch. Add that to the list of reasons why Deeks wished Kensi was here instead of Agent Sandy Brookes. The list of many, many reasons.

Sure they would have been fighting over the right side of the bed. And then she'd end up taking up both sides of the bed anyway. And sure, they'd wake up in the morning and he'd tease her for snoring and she'd tease him for the nose twitches she imagined he did in his sleep. But it would have been comfortable. It would have been nice even. With Kensi.

Deeks drew himself up so he was sitting on the couch, elbows leaning heavily on his knees, hands raking through his blonde tangles.

"Good morning, Detective," a familiar, yet somewhat unwelcome voice chirped from the kitchen.

Kensi was never that disgustingly cheery at seven on a Saturday morning. He missed that.

"Morning," Deeks mumbled, forcing himself to stand and stretch out the sore muscles in his back.

"Sleep well?"

"Fine." The lie was better than admitting he wished he didn't have to sleep on the couch.

"What do you want for breakfast?" She emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of cheap cereal that looked like it tasted like cardboard.

Deeks tried to hide his cringe at her choice in breakfast. "Coffee."

"Coffee's not breakfast."

_Says who?!_

"It'll do."

"So we have the real estate conference today at twelve. Hetty reserved us seats next to Alan Lyre and Paul Browning. I was thinking if—"

The ringing of Deeks' phone interrupted Sandy's words. He scooped it up from between the couch cushions and answered. "Morning sunshine."

"It's way too early for this, Deeks."

_That's my girl. _

"Get called in early?" Deeks tried hard not to let his laughter show in his voice.

"Yes. I have to help you and your new _partner_ access—"

"Whoa. Hold up there." Deeks glanced over into the kitchen and spotted Brookes pretending not to listen to him. He slid open the glass door to the balcony and stepped out, closing it behind him. "Did you just call her my partner?"

He could almost feel Kensi's irritation in the air. "Well, she seems to think she's filled the spot quite nicely when—"

"Hang on," Deeks interrupted, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. "There was never a spot to fill. Where do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere, Deeks. I'm going nowhere. Because my stupid ankle is killing me and I can't even get my own coffee without stumbling over my crutches like an idiot."

Deeks couldn't help but laugh at her misplaced frustration. He waited a few moments when she'd finished her rant, letting the words settle and her temper cool. He spoke gently. "You know what I meant, Kens. Are you planning on going anywhere?"

A slight pause.

"No."

"Not planning on fleeing the country any time soon?"

"Probably not."

"No other agency trying to steal you off us?"

"No."

"Not thinking of giving up your job to make some of those mutant ninja assassins we talked about?"

"Deeks—"

"Planning on dying any time soon?"

"Not planning on it."

Deeks smiled and leaned against the balcony railing. "Good. Because if you're not going anywhere, then I'm thinking I'd still like you to be my partner."

"Sucks that I'm back here then."

A small laugh escaped him. "Yes. Yes it does. So why did you get called in early?"

"You and Brookes will need to get into the computer in the lobby. It has the details of everyone staying there, including our two suspected arms dealers. Hetty wants you to get the info before the conference so Eric and Nell can get digging. So I'm basically just here to supervise."

"Gotcha."

"Then at the conference, you'll be seated next to our suspects and you need to try to get to know them. Once we know what rooms they're staying in, Sam and Callen will take a look around, plant bugs, the usual. Any information is good information. And this is the only lead we got."

Deeks nodded and glanced through the glass doors. Sandy was eating a bowl of cereal on the couch, an impatient expression on her face.

"I should go."

"Don't do anything stupid."

Deeks grinned. "You know, I usually can't help it. That's why I need you here."

"I'll talk to you soon."

"And Kens, Sandy's gonna have an earpiece in today. So be nice."

He heard Kensi scoff on the other end. "Whatever."

"Good girl."

…

The morning had been awkward enough so far. Deeks hoped that this next bit would go smoothly. In spite of Sandy's obvious flaws, namely – the fact that she wasn't Kensi, she was highly qualified according to Hetty and had years of experience on the field.

_Let's get this over and done with._

"Hey Deeks, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear." Deeks responded to Kensi.

"Who's on the line here?" Brookes asked.

"Nell and I are in ops with Kens," Eric replied.

"And Sam and I are parked outside, in case you need backup today. Also keeping an eye on the people attending the conference who might have connections to Lyre and Browning," Callen voiced.

"What's the plan?" Sandy asked quietly, slipping her hand into Deeks' as the headed down the hall in the lobby.

"Depends."

"On what?"

Kensi decided to butt in here. "On whether the receptionist is male or female."

"Thanks, Kens."

"Right." Sandy nodded, lips thin. It was clear she did not approve.

"You'll be pleased to know that there is no one attending the reception area for the time being," Eric informed them as they entered the lobby and glanced around. There were four others in the room, none of whom were overly alert. This was a good thing. And wherever the receptionist was, Deeks hoped he or she would take his or her time.

"I'll keep watch. You jump over." Deeks suggested as they approached the desk.

"We've got eyes through the security footage. Coast is clear for now," Nell added.

Deeks positioned himself in front of the desk, and turned to the four others in the large lobby. One was reading a newspaper. He was safe. Another was sitting on the couch engaging in a lively conversation on the phone. No worries there. And the other two were heading in the opposite direction. All good.

He turned and nodded to Sandy who hoisted herself up onto the desk and swung her legs over, landing silently on the other side. She retrieved a USB from her pocket and inserted it into the computer.

"Eric, you getting this?" She whispered.

"Give me a minute and I'll have it."

"Search the list of check-ins for a room number," Sam instructed.

Deeks glanced around at the remaining two people in the room besides he and Brookes. Still oblivious.

"Got it. No sign of any staff heading this way?"

"You're good," Kensi responded. "Try and find the key cards to their rooms."

"Do we have time?" Deeks asked. Probably a bad move to question Kensi right now, but it needed to be asked.

"No Deeks. That's why I asked her, because there's no time." A thick layer of sarcasm dripped off every word.

"Okay, my bad."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sandy dramatically roll her own eyes as she picked the locks of drawers and searched through them.

"And our missing receptionist is on her way back," Eric informed them.

"That's my cue." Deeks took one more quick glance around the room.

"She's headed in through the same hall you came." Kensi's voice was focused, and if Deeks wasn't mistaken, slightly anxious. Then again, he would be too if it was her out here without him.

He fixed the collar of his shirt as he walked till he met a young blonde woman in the hall wearing the hotel uniform.

"Excuse me," Deeks donned his smoothest voice and touched her arm as she passed him. "I was wondering if you could show me where the gym is. Gotta complete my daily work out. You know how it is."

"Uh, sure." The blonde smiled politely. "It's on the next floor up. If you turn left out of the elevator there's a sign. You shouldn't miss it."

"I need more time, Marty."

"Right. And what facilities do you have. As you can probably see, I do the full body work out. Intense, vigorous work out. As you can see. So I need the latest—"

Deeks was distracted slightly by a loud laugh from Kensi.

"—the latest…equipment." He finished the sentence with his best charming smile and a slight flex of his biceps.

The woman's smile grew. "It's fully equipped. Has everything you need."

"Almost done, Marty."

The blonde made a move to leave Deeks but he caught her gently by the arm again. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"Meg. Yours?"

"Ben. It was good to meet you."

"You too."

"And I'm done. We're good." The relief in Sandy's voice was well evident.

"Can't believe she bought the gym story," Kensi scoffed.

"Yeah me either. I'm wearing a collared shirt and jeans. Not the most practically gym-wear."

"Not the reason I was referring to, but okay."

Deeks felt a grin tug at his lips. Only Kensi.

Sandy joined him several seconds later and the two headed for the elevator without a word. Funny how he was here with Sandy and he still felt like it was Kensi who had his back. He'd hardly said two words to Sandy all weekend and it was her he was sharing a hotel room with.

There are some things you just can't mess with, he supposed. His partnership with Kensi was one of them. It was okay though. He'd have her back in a week or two if she stayed off her right ankle.

He'd have her back.

…

Later that day, Kensi had had enough of the distance. If she couldn't have her partner back yet, she was at least going to make sure he knew she wanted it. She picked up her phone and began typing.

…

'Good work this morning. Gotta say, it was weird not being there with you. Give me a week and I'll be back in the game.'

'I'll give you two.'

'Generous of you.'

'That's me.'

…

'Hetty called. If all goes well today, I'll be finished up here by tonight. Busy?'

'I'll see you tonight.'

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Deeks entered the hotel room, carrying a stack of real estate pamphlets and brochures he had pretended to be interested in. Brookes had left five minutes earlier than him when one of the suspects had taken off suddenly. He'd hoped she'd find something, but when he found her seated on the couch as he re-entered the room, he figured nothing interesting had occurred.

"No luck?" He asked, trying to mask his disappointment.

"No luck," she replied softly, eyes cast down at her fingers that were clasped tightly together in her lap. "Sorry."

Immediately, Deeks felt uncomfortable. Something was wrong, and he was going to have to ask her about it. He took a seat next to her.

Silence consumed them for several moments until he found words to say. "Everything okay?"

Sandy nodded. "Yeah. It's good. I'm good."

Even Kensi lied better than that, Deeks thought. "Undercovers get stressful sometimes, hey?"

Again, she nodded. "I don't know, Marty. Working at NCIS has been a goal of mine for so long. And I don't feel like I'm doing a bad job but…" she hesitated and took a breath, "…I guess I feel like everyone else thinks I am."

Deeks ran a hand over his face, wondering how to handle the situation. He wasn't used to dealing with women. Especially women who actually talked about their feelings rather than bottling them up like another young lady he could think of.

"Sandy, can I be honest with you right now?"

She nodded.

"This may not be what you want to hear right now. Maybe I'm going to come off like a jerk." He paused momentarily, suddenly very sure he was going to come off like a jerk, but deciding to go through with it anyway. "You have big shoes to fill. Kensi is family to us. To me. To the whole team. She's good at her job, and not once has she ever let us down. She's the best partner I've ever worked with."

Sandy forced a small smile. "I get it, Marty. She's great."

"The point is, it gets better – the job, I mean. Kensi had another partner before me. Dominic was his name. She called him Dom. He was a great kid, so I've heard. And it took a long time for the team to get over his death. Especially Kensi. So when I came along, it took a while for me to fit in. And hey, I'm still the butt of most of their jokes. But you can't take it personally. If I did, I wouldn't still be here."

"Thanks." Sandy reached towards Deeks and grasped his hand, interlacing her fingers with his.

_Whoa, whoa whoa._

This was not the reaction he expected. Too far. Way too far.

_Stay calm, Deeks._

He forced a smile, somehow maintaining composure despite the shock of her sudden affection.

She squeezed his fingers briefly, then slowly withdrew her hand. "I really appreciate it."

"Good." Deeks cleared his throat. "That's—that's good."

_Not so good maybe…_

…

Deeks dumped his short review of the case so far on his desk, knowing that Hetty would find it there. The bullpen was quiet on a Saturday night. He'd hoped to run in to some familiar faces, but now it seemed that chance was unlikely.

It had been a long day. After digging through the suspects entire lives, they found heaps of information to suggest the team's theory on the arms dealers was correct. No evidence. No hard evidence. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Hetty had given Deeks and Brookes the night off to return the next day for the second part of the conference where they would continue mingling. He'd hoped the undercover job would be finished by now, but if a night off was all he good get, he'd take it for sure.

Flicking his hair away from his tired eyes, Deeks reached down and grabbed his bag off his desk chair. Turning around to leave, Deeks met an unexpected presence directly in front of him, standing so close he could feel her breath on his face, tickling his facial hair and sending a chill down his spine.

"In a hurry?"

Deeks fought to maintain his composure, knowing that conveying his surprise would mean certain defeat in this little game of Kensi's. "Actually, yeah. I have somewhere to be."

"Oh." She raised her eyebrows, a sideways smile appearing on her lips. "Somewhere important?"

Deeks shrugged, knowing he should take a step back. Knowing that their proximity would appear inappropriate to anyone watching. Knowing that he was enjoying it way too much.

"Eh," he responded, "some chick who practically begged me to hang out with her tonight."

Kensi's expression didn't change. "Some chick, hey?"

_Bad choice of words…_

She continued. "What's she like?"

"She looks kind of like you. But way hotter. Eats like a pig. Snores. Has a terrible sense of humor."

"Sounds charming."

"Oh, she is. But I'm a little upset at her right now."

"Mmmm?" Kensi's face betrayed her curiosity. "Why's that?"

"Well, you see. She has a sprained ankle. And I don't see her crutches nearby." He forced himself to take a step back, crossing his arms to show his disapproval.

She tilted her head. "Maybe she decided to try taking a few steps without them, so she could sneak up on her partner without him hearing her?"

"Uh-huh, I see. Was it worth it?"

"You were more surprised than you let on."

"Yeah," he admitted, retrieving her crutches from the wall a few feet away. Too far away for her to be walking at this point. He handed them to her and she placed them in position. "Coming over tonight?"

"Beer's on me."

Deeks laughed and lifted her bag off her desk, deciding without asking that he would carry it for her. She didn't argue. "And that is why you're the best partner ever."

She laughed. "Just that?"

"Just that. And maybe a few more reasons."

Many, many more reasons, he thought to himself.

…

Deeks unlocked the door for and went inside before Kensi, kicking some shoes out of her path so she could get through without tripping. "Have a seat, okay? I'll get changed and be right out."

Kensi took a seat on his couch. He picked the remote control off the TV cabinet as he walked past and it them to her. The sound of channels flicking filled the silent space as he headed down the short hall to his bedroom.

Dumping his undercover character's shirt on the floor, he threw on a plain white one and changed into blue jeans. He stole a quick glance at his weary face in the mirror on his way out. He hoped for a good night's sleep tonight. It was well needed and hopefully well deserved.

"Kens, I've got some leftovers in the fridge if you…" His words faded out as he entered a now empty living room. "Kensi?"

"I'm in the kitchen."

Deeks frowned as he noticed her crutches leaning against the couch where she had placed them before she sat down before. Sure enough, he found her in the kitchen, leaning on one leg against the counter, his phone in her hand. "I ordered you favorite pizza."

"No. Don't you change the subject. Where are your crutches, Kens?"

She blinked innocently. "They're just in—"

"I know where they are," he interrupted, voice laced with concern. "Why aren't you using them?"

"It's getting better, Deeks. I'm fine."

"Of course you are," he conceded, deciding an argument was not in their best interests right now. "My favorite pizza, you say?"

Kensi's lips curved into a pleased smile. "Yes, I did."

"Why? Why mine and not yours?"

"Because I'm a good partner. Good partners want their partners to have their favorite pizza, right?"

Deeks raised an eyebrow. "I guess."

Content with his answer, Kensi nodded once and tossed him his phone.

"First beer and now pizza?" He asked, still too curious to let it go.

"I'm a good partner," she repeated.

"I know," he said slowly, drawing the words out, unsure what ulterior motive she was trying to accomplish.

"Better than Agent Brookes even."

A light went off in Deeks' mind and suddenly he realised what she was doing.

He felt a sudden urge to step towards her. To close this distance between them and somehow let her know what she was worth to him. But even if he did take that step towards her, what then? He didn't have some heartfelt speech prepared. He wasn't good with heartfelt speeches as made painfully evident by the infamous "everything is going to be alright" speech. So instead he fought to keep his demeanour casual. That's how they did it. They pretended to be casual when in fact the tension in the air was so thick they could cut it with a knife, or probably a machete in Kensi's case. It's how they'd always done it.

But he couldn't pass this one off with a joke or a change in subject. He needed her to know that she was the only partner he could ever want.

"You're worried about that?" He asked gently, yet deliberately conveying the appropriate amount of surprise at the revelation.

Kensi shrugged, but he could see the insecurity in her eyes, and he hated that he may have put it there. "You two did a good job today. Maybe better than—"

"Whoa. Whoa. Please don't say what I think you were going to say."

She started to speak, but he didn't let her, instead continuing as if he hadn't noticed. "Kens, there is no comparison. You know that, right? You have nothing to prove. There's no agent out there who could put up with me like you do."

A small smile graced her lips. "That's a good point."

Deeks released a quiet laugh and looked down at his shoes, somewhat proud of himself that he hadn't stuffed this up yet. "I could go ahead and list all the things that make you the best partner. And even all things that make you better than her. But it would be pointless. Stupid. Because it's…it's so clear…so clear that there is no one in the world that could hold a candle to you. Okay?"

Kensi nodded twice and Deeks could have sworn her eyes were significantly more glassy than they had been a minute ago. But he knew by now that he shouldn't comment on it.

"But uh," he chose this moment to take a step towards her, "if it's all the same to you, I'll still take the beer and pizza." He grinned widely, releasing the built up emotion on the air.

Kensi's smile widened and she nodded again. "Okay. Now's probably a good time to tell you I also rented Die Hard."

"Did I mention you're the best? Now go sit down."

She made a move to step away from the bench.

"Kens! Crutches!"

"Deeks, I'm fine!"

"Nope." He shook his head. "Nuh-uh, you use the crutches or I'll carry you."

"Crutches. I choose crutches."

He took three steps towards her as he responded. "Oh really? Cause I can carry you, you know?"

"I'm fine, Deeks," she laughed.

"Are you sure?" He leaned against the bench, both arms either side of her waist. "You want me to carry you, right? Just admit it." He placed both his hands on her waist and squeezed where he knew she was ticklish.

She released a loud yelp and hopped in the air on one foot. "Ah! Deeks, no!"

Both of them erupted into laughter – she at his tickling, and he at her laugh. She bent over sideways slightly as he continued tickling her sides, and he made sure to keep her weight off her bad ankle. Briefly considering the possibility that he was going too far, that they usually weren't this physical with one another, he shook off the inhibition and bent down, wrapping one arm around her thighs and hoisting her up over his shoulder.

"Like this?" He yelled above her laughing. "This what you wanted?"

"Put me down! Deeks!"

"You don't mean that, Kens!" He moved back into the living room and spun, balancing her weight over his shoulder. He could feel her hands hitting his back lightly, the laughter interspersed between her squeals betraying her enjoyment. Truth was, if this wasn't want she wanted, she could have him on the floor on a split-second, begging for mercy, even with her sprained ankle.

A knock on the door caused both of them to still momentarily. He could feel her push her weight off his back so she was vertical enough to see the door.

"That'd be the pizza." He carried her to the door, despite her protests. As he reached to open it, he slid his arm up till he was holding her waist, then allowed her to slide down his front till she was able to touch the ground slightly with her feet.

He turned the knob and opened the door, arm still firmly around Kensi's waist, with her still laughing into his neck before turning to see their guest.

"Uh, hi," came a voice that both agents recognised. A voice that belonged not to a pizza deliverer, but another agent that neither had expected seeing tonight. "Am I—is this a bad time?"

Deeks loosened his hold around Kensi, yet still provided her with the balance she needed. "No, no. You're fine. Everything okay?"

Sandy smiled and nodded. "Uh, yeah. All good. Can I come in?"

Deeks opened the door the rest of the way and allowed Sandy to step inside.

This was going to be an interesting night…

**A/N: Just a quick note to say thanks for all the reviews. Really appreciate everyone who takes the time to read and review my work. As you can see from the rather abrupt ending, there will be another chapter up soon. Thanks so much everyone :)**


	4. Chapter 4

In spite of his efforts to mask the shock of Sandy showing up at his doorstep, she knew she'd caught him by complete surprise. But he let her in and gestured to the living room as she walked past. "Take a seat."

He looked back at Kensi, now leaning against the wall by the door, who held something of a disguised glare in Sandy's direction. He squeezed her shoulder lightly and mouthed the words, "you okay?"

She nodded and smiled reassuringly.

Deeks retrieved Kensi's crutches that had been leaning against the couch and passed them to her. With as little clumsiness as possible she made her way to the single seat couch and took a seat. Deeks knew it was time to break the curious silence. "So what's going on?"

"Oh, uh…Callen invited me? Said we were hanging out at your place tonight and I should come along."

Deeks looked over at Kensi who looked as bewildered as he felt. "My place? Really?"

"That's what he said."

Kensi pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I have a text from Callen. Invited himself and the gang over here."

"Oh, good."

_Good work, Callen. Real good work._

He'd been looking forward to a night with his partner. A night to talk about anything _but_ work. Of course, he didn't mind having the team over. They were good company. But Sandy? She was not on this team. In spite of his words earlier today, he was completely convinced she'd never be one of them.

"Can I get you a coffee?" He asked her, mostly to diffuse the awkward silence in the room.

"Yeah sure. White, no sugar."

"Got it."

Deeks disappeared into the kitchen to make the intruder's coffee.

_I'll get you back somehow, G Callen._

…

Kensi's ankle ached. And her head. And this chair was uncomfortable. And she was hungry. But she knew the real reason she was in a bad mood was that Sandy was here. The plus side was that she'd stopped Deeks from tickling her and carrying her around, not that Kensi had really minded that. So it wasn't a plus side really. In fact, if she was being honest with herself, she may have even enjoyed it. She mentally added it to the list of negatives about Sandy showing up.

But Kensi was a good person. She had pride and dignity. She'd take the high road and be nice. For a while. "You did a good job today, Agent Brookes. Got us some good leads."

Sandy looked surprised by the compliment. "Thanks. He's good to work with."

Kensi glanced at the kitchen, knowing very well that Deeks would almost certainly be eavesdropping on the conversation. "He is."

"We work well together."

Kensi forced herself to nod, unable to come up with a response better than, "hmm."

"You were lucky to have him as a partner."

Kensi blinked. Had she just heard that correctly? Did she say 'were'? Past tense. That was past tense, right?

She forced herself to keep her tone casual. "He _is_ a great partner."

"So how did you sprain your ankle?"

"Uh," Kensi hesitated. "Deeks pushed me to the ground. He thought I was in danger."

"Were you?"

"I don't know." It was true. He'd pushed her to the ground in a moment of panic when he'd thought someone was going to shoot at her. No one had. But it was possible they would have had she not hit the ground. It didn't matter now.

"I suppose it will still be a while before you can get back on the field?"

"No," Kensi responded too quickly. "Should only be a few days."

"You're still on crutches. You'll need weeks of physiotherapy to get it back in shape." Sandy paused and her lips stretched out into a thin smile. "It's okay. You don't have to feel like less of an agent. You do a good job in ops. I'd never want you to feel bad that I'm doing your job now."

"Temporarily," Kensi added firmly.

"Deeks and I work well together, Kens."

Kensi smiled. Not a sweet smile. Not an understanding or agreeable smile. But it was an intimidating smile. A confident smile. A smile that says, "oh honey, you have no idea what I'm capable of."

"I'm glad to hear that. You'll probably miss working with him when I come back then?"

At that moment, Deeks interrupted, walking in and handing Sandy her coffee, then taking a seat as far from her on the couch as possible. "What time did Callen say everyone was getting here?"

Kensi looked down at her phone. "7:30. It's 7:15 now."

"Oh, I thought he said seven. Sorry, Marty."

Kensi decided to answer for him. "Oh, that's okay. Honest mistake, right?"

Sandy flashed a fake smile in Kensi's direction before turning to Deeks. "So you're really good at undercover work. You do it so naturally."

Deeks smiled politely. "Thank-you. Hear that, Kens? I'm a natural."

"Anyone would have believed we were married the last two days. We play it well, I think." She laughed airily. A sickeningly sweet laugh that Kensi despised. She wondered if Deeks would see through it.

"Actually a couple of months ago, Kensi and I went undercover as a married couple for two weeks. Fooled a lot of people. Even Hetty was shocked at how convincing we were. Isn't that right, sugar bear?" He said, looking over at Kensi. He wore a small, sideways smile and his blue eyes stared right at hers.

An idea dawned on Kensi. Deeks had given her a good opportunity to teach Sandy an important lesson – no one messes with her relatio—partnership with Deeks.

She rolled her eyes and leaned forward, crossing one leg over the other. "Ugh. Sandy, don't you get tired of all the pet names?"

Sandy looked down at her lap, then back at Kensi. "Pet names?"

"Yeah! Sugar bear, hon-bun, sweetie, baby. It never ends, right?"

Sandy laughed awkwardly, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Deeks. "Those are some creative names."

"And doesn't he make the funniest faces in his sleep? Those little twitchy things he does with his nose? And the way he _insists_ on the right side of the bed."

"Uh," Sandy clasped her hands together, then released them, bringing one up to brush her fringe from her face. "We decided it would be more comfortable not to share a bed."

"Oh." Kensi feigned surprise. "You're probably lucky. He brings you the most amazing breakfasts in bed. Pancakes, coffee. Amazing! But so unhealthy."

Deeks is grinning at Kensi from his side of the couch. He knows exactly what she's trying to do. And he'll tease her for it later. But right now, she can tell he's thoroughly enjoying it.

Sandy shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"And then he gets all overprotective and concerned about everything you do."

"I do not!" He objected half-heartedly.

"Oh, really? You freaked out about me cutting my foot in the house."

"I saw blood and you didn't answer me when I called out to you. What was I supposed to think?"

Kensi deliberately ignored his question and turned to Sandy. "You probably know what I'm talking about, right? How he gets so protective?"

"Uh. Actually—"

A knock on the door sounded in that moment. Clearly grateful for the interruption, Deeks jumped up and opened it to Callen and Sam. "So I hear we're hanging out at my place tonight," Deeks remarked casually as they strode in and made themselves at home.

"You've got the biggest TV."

"Good point."

"You did good today, Deeks," Sam complimented him, walking past and taking a seat on the single couch opposite Kensi, the one with the best view of the television.

"Not so bad yourself, Sam. Too bad it didn't get us anywhere though."

"We'll get there," Sam reassured him, taking a sip of the beer that Callen had just handed him.

"Eric and uh… Nell, is it? Are they coming?" Sandy questioned, as the team subtly glanced at each other in shock that she didn't know their technical analysts name after a week of working with them.

"Yes, they're coming," Callen replied.

"Well, we've got pepperoni pizza on the way and a solid plan to watch Die Hard tonight." Deeks grinned at Kensi.

"Sounds good to me." Callen sat on the couch where Deeks had formerly been sitting, forcing Deeks to sit between Callen and Sandy.

"I'm up for that," Sam agreed.

"Good. We can take turns making sure Kensi doesn't try walking on her bad ankle."

Callen turned his head to her. "Really, Kens? Again?"

"Again?" Deeks questioned. "How often have you been doing it?"

Kensi shot Callen a sharp glare, then turned to Deeks. "I've been the perfect patient. Don't listen to them."

Callen and Sam erupted into exaggerated laughs before Kensi subtly changed the subject to the movie they were about to watch.

And half an hour later, the seven of them, including Nell and Eric who had arrived shortly after Callen and Sam, were engrossed in Die Hard. The only noises other than the movie were of Eric and Nell whispering to each other every so often.

But it wasn't the movie or the whispering that had Kensi's attention. It was Sandy. Slowly, in the last half hour she had shifted her way across the couch and closer to Deeks. She'd done it subtly – shifting to get 'comfortable', leaning forward to grab her drink off the coffee table and returning to her seat a little closer to Deeks than before. At forty-five minutes into the movie, she was sitting close enough to Deeks that their arms were touching. Then at some point, her hand had dropped to her side, now sitting between her right leg and Deeks' left. At one point, she'd actually placed her hand on his thigh and whispered something to him, which he laughed at.

As the movie grew more intense, she'd managed to grip Deeks' arm several times, and now the tips of her fingers were resting lightly on his arm. He wasn't comfortable with it. The expressions on his face had conveyed that much. But Sandy seemed oblivious.

The whole thing bothered Kensi way more than it should have. Both that Sandy had the audacity to show such affection to Deeks, and the fact that Deeks hadn't stopped her.

They'd completed almost two thirds of the movie when Deeks suddenly reached for the remote and paused it. Six confused faces turned to him for explanation.

"I'm uh, going to make a coffee. Anyone else want one?" He asked, standing.

His question was met with variations of "no thanks".

He looked straight at Kensi. "Coffee, Kens?"

The look wasn't just any look though. He was speaking to her in his silent expression. So she complied. "Yeah, sure. I'll help you get it right this time."

She picked up her crutches and followed him into the kitchen. As they entered he turned to her, standing so close she thought she'd have stepped backwards had it not been for her ankle.

"You need to help me!" Deeks whispered loudly.

Kensi raised an eyebrow. "With what, Deeks?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. You've been watching us all night."

Kensi lifted her hands in surrender. "Hey it's none of my business if—"

"Switch places with me!"

Kensi pretended to think about it. "No, I don't think I will."

"She's…she's…she keeps…touching me."

"Touching you?"

"Kensi." His eyes begged. "Help me out here."

"Okay," she conceded.

And she did just that. But instead of switching seats with Deeks, she'd gone one up. Instead, choosing to sit directly _between_ he and Sandy. She could feel Sandy's eyes glaring at her, but she ignored them. Eventually, Callen got up for another beer and returned to take the seat that Kensi had been sitting in before.

A successful game of musical chairs, Kensi thought to herself. But then there was phase two.

A few minutes after Kensi and Deeks had sat down again, she shifted slightly closer to Deeks. They weren't touching. Not quite. But she could feel his warmth next to her. Then she leaned close to him, letting her lips brush lightly across his ear as she whispered. "You owe me for this."

The corners of his lips turned upwards into a soft smile. He turned to her as she turned her eyes back to the movie, though she was beyond paying attention. He leaned into her, his nose lightly touching her temple, his warm breath dancing in her hair. "Thanks. I was worried for a while back there."

She waited several seconds after he turned his eyes back to the screen. Her skin was tingling around her ear and right down her neck, and she could feel butterflies dancing in her stomach – a reaction she would never, ever admit to. She turned back to him and whispered again, quoting the profound speech he'd prepared for her just a few months ago. "Everything is going to be alright."

He laughed at that. A soft laugh. But loud enough that the room could hear. And in her peripheral vision, Kensi saw Sandy turn and glance at them, an annoyed look cast across her face.

And Kensi's mission was accomplished.

But then it was Deeks' turn. Once again, he leaned close to her, and she fought to still the chill that threatened to run down her spine. He whispered so quietly, she almost didn't hear him. "Can I put my arm around you?"

Kensi's heart stilled momentarily, then began to beat rapidly. Her first thought was that the rest of the team would see. Imagine the explaining they'd have to do! _We were trying to make Sandy jealous? _No, that wouldn't do. _We were trying to get her to back off of Deeks? _They'd never believe that.

But the way he'd asked her… it was so cute and vulnerable. So not like the Deeks she normally saw. And part of her knew that he was doing this for her too. He saw her insecurities. Even the ones she wished were never there. He saw her defending their partnership, defending what she meant to him, and he to her. And he was fighting alongside her to let Sandy know that nothing could get between them. Not even a sprained ankle. Not even a snobby, overconfident agent who thought she was every man's dream partner.

She whispered her main concern back to him. "The others will see."

Deeks took a while to respond. And Kensi quickly began to regret her reply. But then he leaned back to her and whispered, "we can explain later."

Swiftly making up her mind, Kensi nodded at him with a smile, which he returned enthusiastically.

It took him a few minutes to make his move. And up until he did, she'd started to wonder if maybe he'd changed his mind. But then slowly, he'd lifted his arm and tucked it behind her back, reaching around till his hand sat lightly on her waist. She allowed herself to lean into him, nestling her head in the comfortable space between his shoulder and torso.

She noticed Callen's surprised expression when he saw them, and Nell's excited smile. She also noticed Sandy shifting in her seat, deliberately trying not to look at them.

And less then twenty minutes later, she felt her eyes slowly closing on her, as she fell into a peaceful sleep in Deeks' arms.

…

The rest of the night had been significantly less eventful. The movie had finished and Callen had driven the sleepy Kensi home. Sandy had stayed after everyone else until Deeks made an obvious hint for her to leave, which she'd done, thankfully.

And now he was lying awake, going over and over and over in his mind what it had felt like to have his arm around Kensi. The ache he'd felt for her when he'd overheard her conversation with Sandy. And the slight bit of pride he'd felt at knowing Kensi was just a little bit possessive of him, and maybe even a bit jealous of Sandy.

The bold move he'd made tonight was mostly for her. Sure, he didn't mind the idea of putting his arm around Kensi, even in front of the rest of the team, awkward as it may be. And yes, it would definitely help show Sandy that he wasn't interested in her advancements. However, mostly, it was to show Kensi that he'd choose her any day over Sandy. To show her that he was proud to have her as his partner and friend, and that he was willing to show Sandy and the whole team how committed he was to that partnership and friendship.

Unable to sleep, and unable to stop thinking about his partner, he rolled over and picked his phone up off the nightstand.

…

"You awake?"

"Am now. What's up?"

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"Sleep, Deeks. I'll see you in the morning."

"You're amazing, Kens. Hope you know that."

"Thanks, partner. For everything. Goodnight."

"Sleep well."

…

And the next morning, he woke up to another text.

"You're amazing too Deeks. Seriously. Don't forget it."

**A/N: Hi everyone. I'd just like to say thanks for reading my work. And thanks for all the reviews, etc. They all mean so much to me. I'm thinking I may still get a couple more chapters out of this one. Let me know if you have ideas. Thanks again :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Deeks was exhausted as he walked into the bullpen on Monday morning, hoping the large cup of caffeine he carried would do something to battle the tiredness. The op yesterday had gone exactly as planned. With the information Eric, Nell, Sam and Callen were able to retrieve because of the distractions provided by Deeks and Sandy, who were being closely watched by a vigilant Kensi, they were able to determine a time and place the dealing of arms would take place. Shots were fired. Arrests were made. The usual stuff.

And another day saved thanks to the team at NCIS: OSP.

But as he entered the bullpen and saw Sam and Callen sitting at their desks, smirking at him, he knew he was about to get the talk.

"Eventful weekend, hmm?" Sam commented, leaning back in his chair.

Deeks shrugged and took a seat at his own desk, next to Sam. "No more eventful than usual."

"He's not going to talk to us, Sam," Callen remarked.

"I don't know, G, I reckon he'll open up. It's us after all. We're good to talk to."

"We are that. Wouldn't you say, Deeks?"

Deeks groaned and leaned his head against the desk. Sleep had evaded him for a good few hours last night, and he was paying for it now. He sat up and looked between Sam and Callen. "Is this about Sandy?"

"Actually, it's more about Kensi," Sam replied.

As if on cue, Kensi entered the bullpen on her crutches, appearing just as exhausted as Deeks felt.

"Oh great," Deeks commented on her entrance. "This will make it far less awkward."

Kensi tilted her head sideways. "Huh?"

"We're just reminiscing on the events of Saturday night," Callen explained.

Kensi looked at Deeks who shrugged. "What event might this be?"

"Okay." Deeks slapped both his palms against the desk, deciding now was the best time to give some sort of explanation. He couldn't be bothered dancing around the topic anymore. "Sandy was all over me for some strange reason that is far beyond me. Though it makes sense. I get that a lot with the ladies. But that's going off topic. The point is, I needed to give Sandy a reason to back off so I asked Kensi to help me out. That's all that happened,"

Kensi nodded with a grateful smile and took a seat at her desk. He had decided not to mention the fact that Kensi had gotten all territorial and possessive, although he would have thoroughly enjoyed her furious denial of it.

Callen looked both relieved and disappointed at once. "Now what are we going to speculate about all day?"

Kensi offered a topic. "Has anyone else noticed that Sandy is—"

"Here! Sandy is here. Hi Sandy," Deeks interrupted, as Sandy rounded the entrance into the bullpen.

"Good morning," she practically sung.

So cheery. So disgustingly cheery.

Kensi stifled a laugh at something and Deeks made a mental note to ask her about it later. Today they'd be writing their reports for the weekend's operation. The excitement was hardly containable. Really. It was.

Deeks opened his laptop and began to type. Today was going to be a long day.

…

It had been half an hour since Kensi had disappeared silently from her desk. She couldn't have gone far. But all the same, Deeks had taken it upon himself to find her, just in case.

She wasn't in the bullpen, she wasn't in ops, she wasn't at the boatshed. The gym was Deeks' next destination.

"Kens? You in here?" He called as he entered the room. No reply. No noise. He looked around and saw no one at first.

Then he spotted her. Sitting on the bench along the far wall of the gym, sprained ankle stretched out in front her. Pain etched on her face.

Deeks approached her carefully, knowing by her posture she wasn't in the mood for company. She looked frustrated. It wasn't till he was only a few feet away from her that she looked up at him.

"It hurts," she said simply.

He took a seat next to her, bumping her shoulder lightly with his own.

"I can't even walk yet."

"Kens, you shouldn't even be trying to walk," he said gently, wanting very much to scold her, but knowing that wouldn't help right now. "How long did the doctor say?"

"Three weeks."

"And how long has it been?"

"One and a half."

They remained silent for at least a minute, until she stood without warning.

"Kens!" He stood with her and touched her elbow.

"I can do this, Deeks. I just need to exercise it."

"No." He moved so that he was standing in front of her. "You need to rest it. That's how it works with a sprain."

"It wasn't a bad sprain, Deeks. I can do this."

"Anyone ever told you how stubborn you are?"

She shrugged. "Mostly just you."

"That's because I'm the one that has to watch out for you when go prancing into dangerous situations because of your stubbornness."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Lucky me."

A small smile appeared on Kensi's lips, and even though he was complaining, he was glad to see the fire in her eyes. A stubborn Kensi was a determined Kensi. And there was no arguing with this Kensi, he knew that much by now.

"Okay." He held out both his arms towards her, bent at the elbows.

She looked down at them as if his action was completely foreign to her. He curled his fingers, gesturing for her to lift her own arms, which she did. Slowly, gently, he placed his arms under hers, holding her elbows in his hands. "I've got you, okay?"

She nodded. Her dark eyes gazed into his and, for a fraction of a moment, he thought he could see trust in her eyes. Trust in him.

"Lean your weight on me. I've got you."

She took a small step with her bad leg, leaning heavily on him as she put weight on it. She winced and her breath caught as she lifted her other leg, then set it back down.

Again, she took a step, this time releasing a small cry of pain as she stepped down.

"Okay." Deeks held as much of her weight as he could in this position. "Okay, that's enough. You did good. You can walk. Congratulations. Now let's find your crutches."

"No," she protested adamantly. "I can do this, okay?"

"Right, of course. I'm sorry I was mislead by your cries of pain!"

But she wasn't backing down. Did she ever?

He moved around behind her, so her back was against his chest. This time, he took her arms from behind, leaning her arms on his and intertwining his fingers with hers. "This okay?"

She nodded, and that was enough response for him.

"How you snuck up on me on Saturday, I will never know."

She released a laugh, though the pain was still evident somewhere in it. "It was so worth it."

"You good?"

"I'm good."

Together, they took a step. And then another. And then another. She was leaning on him heavily, but at least she was walking somewhat. At least the pain was bearable.

"Is it weird that I think your hair smells really good?"

"Deeks!" A loud laugh erupted from her mouth and in the moment of lost concentration she leaned on her bad foot. "Ah!"

"Sorry!" He tightened his hands around hers, and held as much of her weight as he could. "Sorry."

"S'okay. I'm good."

"Please tell me this is enough," he pleaded, unsure how much longer he could cope seeing her in this much pain.

"A few more steps."

"Kens—"

"A few more steps please."

With a reluctant groan he gave in. And together they stepped. First their right legs. Then left. Then right.

"How's that feel?" He asked.

"Kills."

"Okay." Still holding her weight, he moved around till he stood facing her side and bent over, tucking one arm around her waist and the other behind her knees.

"Deeks, what are you—"

"Don't argue with me, Kens." He lifted her with considerable ease, and she wrapped one arm around his neck to help him carry her weight. He carried her over to the bench but for some, unexpected reason, he felt reluctant to set her down. "If I put you down, will you be good?"

She simply rolled her eyes. "Define good?"

"You won't try to walk again for a few days."

She shook her head like a stubborn little girl, and the sight brought a smile to his lips.

"Okay, you won't walk without me for a few days."

"Fine."

"Fine." He placed her gently on the bench and took a seat next to her once again. He wanted to say something reassuring. Something about how it would all get better, and that he'd be there to help her along the way. But every way he arranged the possible words in his head, they came out far too cheesy. So instead he just reached for her crutches and handed them to her, placing a hand on the small of her back as she stood.

If this is what it took to get her to stop walking on her own, he'd do it gladly. He followed closely behind her as they made their exit from the gym.

"I'll bet Sandy would have loved to witness that back there," he joked.

Kensi responded by angling her left crutch so that Deeks tripped over it as he walked, leaving him sprawled on the floor.

"Okay. Touché," he groaned.

Kensi just laughed and left the gym without a word.

_And that's my girl._


	6. Chapter 6

"Okay, come on Kens. You can do this." Deeks stood behind Kensi, his chest pressed against her back, her hair tickling his chin, her hands in his, his arms supporting hers.

"It hurts," she grunted.

"Oh good. We can stop then." He takes a step back, still careful to keep her balanced.

"No! No. Deeks. I'm doing this with or without you."

"Then I'm thinking you didn't quite understand the conditions of our deal."

She reached back and motioned for him to come closer, gripping his left hand in hers. Again, he took his position.

"I'm starting to think maybe you just like having me so close."

"Ha!" Kensi released a loud, exaggerated laugh. "You wish."

_Yeah, I really do._

"Ready?"

"Mhm." She braced herself for the pain as they stepped together. Right. Left. Right. Left.

"How's that feel?"

"Better. Better than it has been."

He squeezed her hands gently. "Good. 'Cause I gotta tell you, I really need my partner back. This Sandy woman is really starting to freak me out."

"Yeah?" Kensi tried and failed to withhold the pain from her voice. "What did she do now?"

"Came over last night."

"What?" Without thinking, Kensi whirled around to face him, then winced in pain as she landed on her bad foot.

Deeks held both her hands to keep her balanced. "Whoa. You okay?"

"She was at your house?"

"Do you want to sit for a while?"

"When? Why?"

"I can run and grab some ice?"

"How long did she stay?"

"I told you, you need to rest it! But no—"

"Deeks! Stop talking about my ankle."

"Okay."

"Why was she at your house?"

"She dropped off my wallet."

"Why did she have your wallet?"

"I left it at work."

"Why did you—"

"Why do I feel like I'm in an interrogation?"

Kensi responded with a fast punch to his shoulder.

He winced in pain. But decided not to let it stop him. "You jealous?" He asked with a small grin.

"Deeks. Really?"

"I'll take that as a no." Again, he grabbed both of her arms and helped her to the nearest seat. She was walking easier now. Her sprain had healed a lot in the last week. She'd be able to walk soon. But getting back on the field was a whole different matter.

"How long did she stay?" Kensi asked as she sat down, lifting her ankle and massaging it gently.

Deeks took a seat on the floor in front of her, boldly reaching for her foot and drawing it towards him. As gently as he could, he pressed an ice pack he'd prepared earlier against the side of her ankle, lightly stroking her foot with the thumb of the hand holding it up. "She didn't. I didn't let her in."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I uh…I may have told her you were sleeping on the couch…and I didn't want to wake you."

Kensi smiled and shook her head. "You are so unprofessional."

"You're the one who's jealous." He shrugged.

The sound of footsteps entering the gym interrupted their conversation.

"We got a case."

Deeks and Kensi both turned to Eric who motioned for them to follow him.

_Please, let this be a short one._

…

It had taken Eric, Nell, and Hetty five minutes to run through the details of the next case. A petty officer found dead, his laptop containing several links and passwords to protected government sites.

Problem was, the petty officer had been missing for several weeks. And most of his intel had been gathered prior to that.

"So who's Petty Officer Daniels closest to? Who'd have access to his laptop?"

Eric displayed pictures and IDs on the screen as he spoke. "He lived with his parents until a year ago when he began to room with Petty Officer Chris Baker. He has a girlfriend named Tawnie Winters. He spends a lot of time at a bar around the corner from his house, and at the gym down the street. His land lord says he's a responsible tenant and has no complaints."

"That is, until he showed up dead in her building," Nell added.

"Okay. Sam and I will chat to the parents. Deeks, Sandy, go check out the apartment. See what we can find out about this guy."

"Hang on," Kensi protested. "What about me?"

Callen turned to Kensi, an apologetic look on his face. "Kens, we can't send you out in the field yet."

"Callen! I'm a _field _agent!"

"Yes. Kensi, your ankle is—"

"I can walk now, Callen." She whirled around to face Deeks, masking the grimace at putting weight on her foot. "Deeks, tell him."

All eyes turned to Deeks as they awaited an answer from him. "Uh." He ran a hand through his hair. "She's, uh…"

"Deeks…" her expression pleaded with him.

"What do you want me to say, Kens?"

"If she can walk alright then I think she's okay to go inspect a victim's house. So if she can walk, she can go," Callen remarked.

"Deeks, tell them."

"Tell them what? That sure you can walk – if I'm holding you up. And even then you're wincing in pain the whole time."

"Deeks!"

"What if something happened? If something went wrong? You can't run, Kens. You can't fight." He turned to Callen. "If we send her out there we're putting her in danger."

Kensi looked shocked and hurt. She leaned against the table in the center of ops, arms crossed, lips pursed.

"Okay. Deeks and Sandy, check out Daniels' house. Sorry Kens." Callen patted her awkwardly on the arm. She just nodded.

"Got it." Sandy smiled at Deeks and exited ops behind Callen and Sam.

Deeks turned Kensi and stepped towards her. "Kens—"

"Don't, Deeks." She shook her head. "Just don't."

He nodded and took a step back. "Okay. I'll uh—I'll call you later. Okay?"

She didn't respond. She was too busy pouting. And while, admittedly, it was kind of cute, Deeks hated that she was mad at him.

"Okay, Kens?"

She nodded. "Okay."

He turned to leave, but stopped at the door when he heard her voice.

"Don't do anything stupid."

Deeks couldn't help but release a small laugh. He knew that was Kensi's way of saying 'good luck'. So she couldn't have been all mad at him. "I'll try."

…

"Okay, Kens. Here's the thing. See, I would have loved to have you with me today when we went to Petty Officer Daniels' house. I would love to say you're ready to be back on the field. That your ankle is better and everything is peachy. But I can't.

And I'm sorry. It doesn't make you less of an agent. Or less of a partner. It doesn't make you weak. It doesn't make you worth any less. It makes you human."

Deeks took a breath and continued. "But I can't let you back on the field with an injury like that. Why? Because you mean too much to me. Because I'd be putting your life in danger and that's just not okay with me. Because if something happened to you I couldn't…well, I couldn't live with myself.

You are everything to me, Kens. Do you know that? If I could spend the rest of my life protecting you every single day – that's what I'd do. No question. Even if it means fighting you every step of the way.

So get mad. Hit me. Give me the silent treatment. Throw me your best insults. I don't care. I'm not putting you at risk like that. I can't.

I'm not strong enough to lose you, Kens…"

_Okay, time to stop. This is getting way to emotional._

Deeks slid his jacket over his arms and glanced in the mirror one last time. He was quite eloquent when Kensi wasn't in the room. But as soon as she looked at him with her beautiful, dark eyes… The words just never came. And he knew tonight wouldn't be any different.

When he rocked up at her door step, doughnuts in hand, he'd almost forgotten every word he'd rehearsed.

She opened her door slowly. She was wearing jeans and a purple tank top. Her hair was down and curly and a little messy. Beautiful.

But it was her frown that caught his eyes. He briefly considered that fact that she may not be pleased to see him.

"Listen, I know you hate me right now. But I was going to call like I said and then thought I can't buy your love with doughnuts over the phone."

If he wasn't mistaken, she did smile a little. Maybe just a little. The corners of her lips may have turned up ever so slightly. A sorry excuse for a smile, really. But he'd take it.

"Am I allowed in?"

She nodded and opened the door, taking the bag of doughnuts from his hand and using her crutches to get to the couch. He took a seat next to her.

A thick coat of silence filled the room for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Deeks had never been good with silence.

"You mad at me?"

Kensi looked at him, then down at her hands in her lap, then at the television which was currently on mute. "No."

"Really? 'Cause you look mad."

"I'm not mad."

"Sure, okay." And the silence resumed.

Suddenly feeling nervous and tense and restless, Deeks stood and walked around and began to pace. Once. Twice. Then sat again, body angled towards Kensi who was still pretending to watch TV.

"Kens?"

No reply.

"Kensi?"

She continued to ignore him.

"Fern?"

"Don't you ever shut up?"

"Knew that would work. And no. No I don't. I'd have thought you knew that by now."

"I know you were just trying to protect me," she stated simply and matter-of-factly.

Deeks raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh?"

"I know you didn't want me getting hurt."

"Oh." He stammered, "well—well that's good that you know that because I was trying to think of a way to tell you that and then it was like my brain forgot how to speak English."

Kensi tried to look annoyed at him, but the amusement in her eyes betrayed her.

"I really, really wanted you out there with me today. But not enough that I would even consider putting you at risk."

Kensi nodded with a small smile. "Okay."

"So you're really not mad?"

"I'm not mad."

"Okay." He smiled, relieved that he wasn't in the proverbial dog house anymore. "Would you like me to go?"

She looked at him with wide eyes and shook her head adamantly. "Nope."

Man, that was cute. Did she do that on purpose?

"That's good," he responded, "because I wasn't planning on leaving."

As if to prove she wasn't mad at him, Kensi held the open bag of doughnuts in his direction. He reached in and took one and she did the same.

"So you never answered my question today."

Kensi turned to him with both eyebrows raised. "Question?"

"Yep. You jealous of Sandy? 'Cause if you were, that'd be totally hot."

Letting a loud laugh escape her lips, Kensi grabbed a cushion from behind her and shoved it at Deeks.

_Yep. Definitely jealous._

**A/N: Hi! The author's note on my last chapter disappeared when I re-uploaded the chapter with a few corrections, but there was a massive thanks in there for everyone who has read and reviewed my work. Feel free to send me any ideas of where else you might like this to go, and what situations I should include. Every idea gives me inspiration for whatever I end up choosing. Thanks again! **


	7. Chapter 7

Deeks entered the bullpen early on a Wednesday morning. A surprising turn of events. He was almost always last. He made a mental note to sleep in an extra five minutes tomorrow and sat at his desk, ignoring the growing pile of paper work and deciding instead to tear up paper, scrunch them into balls, and try to land them in the open top draw of Kensi's desk.

The first missed. The second missed. And the third never got thrown because he was interrupted by a voice.

"Good morning." Cheery. Wide awake. Overly sweet. Sandy.

And indeed, Deeks turned in his chair to find Sandy smiling down at him.

"Morning," he mumbled, trying to look suddenly interested in his paper work.

She took a seat at the desk Hetty had set up for her, inconveniently just next to his.

"So we have the party at Patrick Holland's house today. You ready for it?"

She was referring to the latest case. A politician named Patrick Holland was hosting a benefit for a charity that he didn't seem to care much about, and had invited an odd mix of people. Evidence the team had found in the last few days pointed to a possible drug trafficking ring. So today, they were crashing that party to find out.

"Should be interesting," he replied, deliberately not showing any interest at all. "I'm hoping Kensi will be allowed back out there today."

"Mmm? You think she's ready?"

"Yep. She's not back to her full strength. But most people's full strength won't stand a chance against 10% of Kensi's," he chuckled.

"So um, do you think she's coping alright with us being partners?" Sandy asked with a faux-concerned smile on her face.

Deeks stopped pretending to read and looked at Sandy. "Uh, Sandy… I thought it had been made clear to you by now that Kensi is still my partner. I'm sorry, but your position here is temporary."

Sandy's expression didn't change. "I know it's a lot to take in right now. But we work well together, Marty. We're good together. Surely, you've seen that over the last few weeks."

Deeks had to admit, she was a good agent. And yes, maybe they worked well together. But only because he was also good at his job. They were two people who excelled at their jobs and therefore excelled together. But he and Kensi were so much more than that. Their skill level was low on the list of reasons they worked well together. Sandy just didn't see it.

She continued before he'd formed a response. "Hetty sees it too. And Granger. Even Director Vance is pleased with what we've been doing in the last few weeks. Kensi's a good agent. She won't have any problems finding another—"

"Okay." Deeks stood and walked around to space on the other side of his desk, suddenly unable to sit that close to Sandy. "See, I'm not sure what world you're living in but it must be different to the world I'm living in because where I'm coming from, and I'm going to be brutally honest here – there is no way in hell you are ever going to take Kensi's job. And unfortunately for you, the world I'm living in is the same world Hetty's living in, and Callen. And let's face it, no one ever knows what Granger's thinking, but I'm pretty sure it's not what you're thinking."

"Sure, okay," Sandy conceded, though it was clear she didn't really understand.

Deeks forced himself to take a seat at his desk once again. He pulled one of the file folders off the top of the piles on his desk and began flicking through it. But his concentration was broken when he felt light fingertips on his forearm. He stopped working and looked up at Sandy, resisting the urge to yank his arm away.

"Marty, are we okay?"

Not really.

_Not at all._

"Sure."

She smiled sweetly. "Okay. I'm looking forward to this op today. Even if it's just for a while, I enjoy being partners with you."

The woman was crazy, Deeks decided. She didn't take a hint. A very, very strong hint at that. Should he respond? Was it worth it? She wouldn't get it anyway. Clearly, she was intent on taking Kensi's job. If she'd already spoken to Granger and Vance… Well, that can't be good.

But Deeks wouldn't have it. He'd show Sandy how great he and Kensi were together. He'd show her that she can't worm her way into this team, or into this partnership. Somehow, he'd show her. And most importantly, he'd show Kensi.

…

Deeks entered the shooting range, SIG in hand. But he wasn't here for target practice. No. He was there because there was a certain someone else in there who actually was practicing.

Every time she shot, she got the mark almost exactly in the centre. On the head. In the chest. Perfect every time. When she'd emptied her magazine, she put her gun down and pulled the muffs off her ears, pressing the button that delivers her practice target closer so she can see the results. But Kensi and Deeks both knew her results would be perfect again.

"I see the ankle hasn't affected your aim."

Kensi turned to him, wearing a proud smirk. "My ankle is perfectly fine thank-you very much."

"You're just saying that so they'll let you back out there today."

"Whatever, Deeks."

"Walk."

She turned to him, leaning on one hip, arms crossed. "What?"

"I want to see how well you're walking now."

"Fine." She'd taken four steps towards him when he expected her to turn around and begin walking the other way. But she didn't. She took another few steps. Deeks' breath caught as she approached, far closer than he'd ever expected her to. Their toes almost met when she finally stopped, looking up at him innocently. "How does it look?"

Deeks cleared his throat, allowing a small grin to form on his lips as he looked down at her, feeling her breath tickling his neck. His mouth felt dry all of a sudden and he forced himself to swallow. "Looks…looks good. Very," he cleared his throat again, "very good."

She smiled sweetly and blinked once, twice, three times. She was deliberately being adorable. And he was defenseless against her clever ways. "Good."

Then she turned, the ends of her hair flicking his face as she did so. She walked to the end of the room then turned and crossed half the distance back to him. "See, I can walk fine."

"You're limping."

"_You're _seeing things."

"Can you run?"

"I can," she answered far too quickly. "Sometimes."

"Kens, you don't have to do this." Deeks leaned against the wall as he spoke.

"Yes, I do. It's been almost four weeks. I need this job back. I need my life back. And that Sandy woman is going to take it away from me if I don't—"

"What?" Deeks stepped towards her. "Kens, that's not happening."

Kensi crossed her arms, her typical way of distancing herself from him. "I heard her talking to Granger. She's a more experienced agent. Her father works directly under Director Vance. She's been after a position at this branch of NCIS for years."

"Yeah, but—"

"Think about it, Deeks. I was a murder suspect not too long ago. Went completely off the grid. The year before this, I got kidnapped. Twice. I've let my emotions get far too involved in several cases recently. And to top all that off, I went and sprained my ankle."

"Actually, I sprained your ankle."

"Deeks…"

Deeks had no idea if she was about to say something and stopped, or if she simply said his name to get him to think seriously about what she was saying. But it didn't really matter. It was the look on her face that worried him most. It was a look of defeat. Of failure.

"Why do you focus on all that stuff, Kens? That stuff is so minor compared to all the good you've done. Callen and Hetty see that too. And I'm sure if Granger and Vance got the right perspective, so would they."

Kensi nodded, evidently unconvinced.

Deeks dared another step closer. "You have nothing to prove to me, Kensi. Or to this team. You're not going anywhere, okay? We won't let it happen. I won't let it happen."

She smiled as she nodded this time. That was progress.

"I just…" she begun, but then her voice faded as her thoughts seemed to take over again.

"Just…?"

"Never mind." She shook her head. "It'll be good to get back into it today."

"What were you going to say?"

"Hmm?"

"Just then. You started saying something."

"It's nothing. It was nothing."

"Kens, need I remind you that I know your weak spot now?"

She looked at him questioningly, but he was sure she knew what he was talking about.

He stepped towards her, hands outstretched towards her waist. Her weak spot. Her ticklish spot.

"No, Deeks." She stepped back, but he matched her steps until her back touched the wall behind her. "Deeks. Be good. Be professional."

She sounded stern. She probably would have fooled anyone else. But Deeks could see through it. She had started laughing even before he reached her.

"No-o!" She yelled just as his hands reached her waist.

He was surprised, really. He'd expected her to either slap his hands away or confess. But she'd done neither so far.

"You ready to speak up, Blye?" He spoke above her laughs and protests.

"Yes! Stop. I'll talk."

Reluctantly he withdrew his hands, somewhat disappointed that she'd surrendered so quickly. He looked at her expectantly. "So…?"

She wore a bright smile that bore just a hint of vulnerability. He hardly ever saw that smile, and he'd learned to appreciate it.

"It's just… It sucks. Watching her be your partner instead of me. And uh—I'm looking forward to having you back."

Deeks felt his smile widen and he suddenly felt very self conscious about it. But he couldn't help it. He was smiling like an idiot!

He looked down at his feet, suddenly feeling awkward. Maybe bashful?

_Pull it together, Deeks._

"Hey, so you know – today I'll be partnered with Sandy."

"I know."

"But I want you to know I'll have your back out there. You're still my partner. Even when she's supposed to be. It's you I'm looking out for."

"Okay," Kensi grinned, looking exceptionally pleased. "I'll see you on the field then, partner."

"See you then." Deeks turned, intending to leave Kensi to finish her target practice. He had to admit, he was definitely satisfied with how that talk went.

But as he opened the door to exit, he was met by Sandy, gun in hand. Apparently the shooting range was a popular location this time of morning.

"Hey Deeks. Morning, Kens."

Funny how she used Kensi's short name like they were the best of friends. Maybe she really was that oblivious.

"Sandy," Kensi greeted her, matching the faux-friendly manner that Sandy always exhibited.

Deciding this was too interesting a sight to pass up, Deeks turned and leaned against the door. Partially because he thought it could be entertaining. Partially because he worried how Kensi might react to Sandy's taunting. He couldn't have his partner committing murder on her first day back.

"So I heard you're coming to the benefit with the rest of us today," Sandy offered conversation.

Kensi nodded. "Nell got my alias a job as a waitress."

"Oh nice. Marty and I are playing some snobby, rich couple. Right, Marty?"

Deeks nodded unenthusiastically. "That's right."

"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy your first day back on the field. If you need any advice or have any questions, let me know." Sandy turned to face her shooting target, lifted her gun and aimed carefully, she shot five times before stopping and lowering her gun, placing it back in her holster. She smiled, first at Deeks then at Kensi, evidently pleased with her five shots, most of which were in the center circle on the target's torso.

"Thanks, Sandy." Kensi tilted her head and smiled sweetly. "I'll remember that."

Then without breaking eye contact with Sandy, Kensi extended her gun towards her target and shot twice. Without a word, she tucked the gun behind her back and exited the shooting range, winking at Deeks as she left.

And the look on Sandy's face when she saw Kensi's target – one bullet directly between where the eyes would be, and one in the dead center of the torso – was absolutely priceless.

**A/N: Hi all! Just another big thanks for reading. Also, my apologies for any mistakes. I'm super tired today. And also, sorry for mistakes in previous chapters. I know they're there, I just can't be bothered fixing them. So bear with me! The next chapter will depict the events that will occur in the op they have been talking about in this chapter, so stay tuned and enjoy :)**


	8. Chapter 8

"How's the ankle Kens?" Deeks glanced around the room, suddenly unable to see her and it worried him.

"Deeks." Kensi was clearly fighting to keep her voice calm. "This is the third time you've asked me that in five minutes."

"Okay, sorry."

"Leave her alone, Deeks," Callen's voice advised him through the ear piece.

"Okay." She still wasn't in sight. "Where are you?"

"I'm trying to serve drinks. But I probably look like a psycho who talks to herself now."

Deeks chuckled and looked over at Sandy whose arm was linked in his. She did not look amused.

A minute passed and Deeks continued wondering about her ankle, and how she was coping. But he knew if he asked again she'd think he was doubting her. Which he most certainly would never do.

"Okay, Sam, I'm downstairs." Callen's voice.

"Good. You see anything, G?"

"Nope. There's—hang on."

Deeks tried to remain focused on his character as he heard the scuffle Callen had evidently gotten himself into. He looked over at Sandy and noted her obvious concern.

"Need back-up, G?" Sam's voice.

No answer.

Deeks scanned the room again, looking for a visual on Kensi.

"Okay, he's down," Callen updated them. "He won't be waking up for a good half-hour. And he should be comfortable here in the cleaning closet in the mean time."

"Try to keep a low profile, G. Get in that meeting, get the info, get out."

"I know, Sam."

Deeks decided another walk around the room might be beneficial. Try and get in on the conversations. See if there was anything suspicious. He tugged Sandy's arm and motioned for her to follow.

Eventually, Kensi came into view and Deeks had to try not to smile at her as she approached. She was wearing black pants, a white shirt and a black vest. Curls falling neatly against her cheeks. And a black tray in hand, tall glasses of champagne resting neatly on top. She approached them casually with a timid smile.

"Champagne, Madam?" She asked Sandy first.

"Yes, thank-you." Sandy removed a glass from the tray and took a small sip.

"And you, sir?"

"Don't mind if I do." Deeks also took a glass. "Thank-you, darlin'."

He knew she'd roll her eyes at the term of endearment if she wasn't in character. But for now, she just smiled politely, dipped her head and moved on.

Yep, Sandy may be playing his wife today. But Kensi still got the pet names. And he knew she'd secretly enjoy it.

The sound of gun fire through Deeks' earpiece distracted him completely from his thoughts.

Callen.

A quick glance between both Sandy and Kensi confirmed they'd heard it to.

"Callen, status?" Sam sounded mildly panicked.

"I'm good. But I've got two bodies here."

"That's not good."

"I'm gonna get out of here."

A minute passed with no sound over the earpiece. Deeks tried to keep his posture and expression casual as he waited for an update from Callen.

"Okay, I'm about to re-enter the main room."

Deeks spoke in a hushed tone, facing Sandy so people would think he was having a conversation with her. "People are going to notice, Callen. The room is guarded, they'll ask where you're coming from."

"There's security personnel inside the doors your about to enter, Callen. Bad idea," Eric advised.

"Okay. New plan."

Deeks had no idea what the new plan was. But it took Callen long enough.

"Marty," Sandy quietly got his attention, tugging lightly on his sleeve.

He followed her line of sight until his eyes fell on their suspect. "Holland's back."

"If there was a deal going down, we probably missed it." Sam sounded frustrated. "G, where are you?"

"Outside."

"Outside where?"

"Uh, the main room. I'm going to need a distraction."

Sam sighed. "Why?"

"Because I'm sidling along the outside wall and I'm about to pass the window that looks into the room everyone is currently in."

Deeks glanced at Sandy, who was already looking at him. He then turned to Kensi who had stopped serving and was looking around the room, presumably for Deeks. Or maybe Callen.

"Okay, a distraction right now would be nice, thanks guys."

Deeks looked over at Sandy. Her face was blank. She was looking to him for direction and he didn't have any.

But then he did.

Kensi was standing half way across the room, looking over at him, trying to silently communicate a genius plan of hers, no doubt.

But Deeks had his own plan.

One foot in front of the other, he strode towards her, his eyes locked on hers. He wondered if she could hear the thoughts his eyes were trying to communicate to her. Thoughts like _please don't kill me for this_, and _you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this_ were at the forefront of his mind.

When he reached her, he didn't hesitate. He reached forward, knocking the tray out of her hand, sending the glasses crashing to the ground. Surprise registered in her eyes and then faded.

Deeks closed the gap between them and wrapped one arm around her waist, lifting his other hand and pushing it through her hair and around to the back of her neck. And then he kissed her. Fire spread over his lips as they met hers, and she matched the pressure of the kiss without hesitation, clutching his shirt in her hands.

He stepped in her direction, suddenly craving complete closeness with her. She matched his steps until he had her pressed against the wall.

Deeks deepened the kiss as far as he could in the knowledge that he had a whole room of people watching them. He was both surprised and pleased at her enthusiastic cooperation as she slid one hand up and around his neck, caressing his jaw with her thumb as she did so.

For a brief moment, the memory of their last kiss flashed into Deeks' mind. Their op as Justin and Melissa. She'd initiated that one and it had come as a complete surprise to him. It was over before he'd even realized what she was doing. But this time… well, she'd shown no surprise at his move to kiss her. She'd welcomed it even. Like she'd been waiting for it. Like she'd been expecting it. Craving it.

And then Callen's voice interrupted. "Alright, I'm good."

Kensi lowered her hands and Deeks reluctantly broke the kiss, breathing heavily.

She wore a small, indescribably adorable smile. Deeks leaned in again, pressing two light kisses to her lips before stepping away.

He turned to Sandy, a look of complete shock plastered across her face. She turned and stormed out of the room, a move that Deeks hoped was a part of her character.

"You out, G?" Sam's voice came through the earpiece.

"I'm good. I don't know what you guys did, but it worked."

Deeks just grinned at Kensi. No doubt Eric and Nell would fill Sam and Callen in later.

Eric's voice interrupted that thought. "Problem. Kensi, Deeks, there's a team of four security personnel headed your way."

Deeks grabbed Kensi's hand and they headed swiftly towards the exit.

"Kens, your cover's been blown. They've got your ID on their tablets," Nell informed them, voice coated with concern.

Their fast walk turned into a slow run as they exited the room and headed down the hall.

"Which way, Eric?" Deeks asked.

"There's two more security guards in the elevator. You'll need to take the stairs. To your left."

Deeks looked back at Kensi who was running about two feet behind him to his right, her left hand still enclosed in his right hand. "You good?"

"I'm good."

"Hurry it up, guys."

Deeks shoved the door open to the stair well and allowed Kensi in ahead of him. The two of them charged down the stair well as fast as Kensi could manage.

A low grunt from her warned Deeks that her ankle wasn't handling the pressure. "Kensi, slow down."

"There's no time for that, Mister Deeks." Hetty's calm voice spoke for the first time during the op. Deeks hadn't even realised she'd been watching. He and Kensi would have some definite explaining to do upon their return.

Deeks struggled to talk through his fast breaths as they continued descending the stairs. "Her ankle can't—"

"I'm fine, Deeks," she protested through gritted teeth.

Two sets of stairs later and Kensi's ankle decided to give in, sending her tumbling down the majority of the next set.

"Kens!" Deeks yelled as he charged after her. As he reached the platform where she'd landed on her side, he reached down and tucked his right arm under her legs and his left around her back. Scooping her up in one swift motion he continued to descend the stairs, thankful to know she was still conscious when she wrapped one arm around his neck. "You okay?" he panted, fighting to keep his balance and speed as he continued as fast as he could go.

"I'm good."

Deeks glanced behind, grateful to see the men chasing them weren't in view yet. Focusing hard on the stairs beneath his feet, Deeks looked for conversation to distract her from the pain she was obviously in. "Did I ever tell you that you're a really good kisser?"

Kensi laughed and rolled her eyes. "Lucky you, hey?"

Then it was Deeks' turn to laugh, even through his heavy panting. "Tell me that again when we get out of this."

"Please, tell me you guys didn't…" Callen's voice in the earpiece set a smile on both Kensi and Deeks' faces.

"They sure did," Eric responded.

Deeks took his eyes off the stairs for a brief moment to take in the bashful, yet amused look on Kensi's face. He winked at her and her smile widened in response.

So they'd failed today. They'd gotten no information. Callen had almost been shot. Kensi's cover had been blown. And now they were running for their lives.

But Deeks had to admit, today most certainly wasn't all bad.

Not bad at all.

A/N: Hello again. Hope this chapter was to your liking. Would have liked to have made it a bit longer, included some more of the banter with the team. But It's almost 1:30am here and I'm so tired. So imagine that it's there :) Blame my tiredness for any mistakes as well! Thanks again for reading. I'm thinking the next chapter may be my last, so feel free to let me know what you'd like to see happen and let me know what you think of this chapter also. Thanks for sticking with me :)


	9. Chapter 9

"Kens – how's the ankle?"

Kensi rolled her eyes at the text that came through on her phone. If she had a dollar for every time Deeks asked her that over the last few weeks…

She texted back: "Fine. I should be okay to drive if you're after company."

"Doc said you need to rest it. No driving. I'm coming over."

"Bring me dinner."

…

"Deeks, I can get my own painkillers."

"Or," Deeks yelled from her kitchen, "I could get them for you." He re-entered the room with two tablets and a glass of water in hand.

She took them and popped both in her mouth at once, swallowing them together. She then took another bite of her burger. "It doesn't hurt that badly."

"Of course it doesn't." Deeks took a seat on the other end of the couch and watched her scoff down her burger. His Kensi was one classy woman.

"You're staring at me," she tried to say with her mouth full of burger.

Deeks considered denying it. But any way he tried to deny it would come off defensive. And there was something that needed to be said here, so he decided now was the best time to come out with it. "Are we ever going to talk about today?"

Kensi finished chewing and swallowed her bite slowly. "Um. Yeah. We can…we can talk."

"Good." Deeks took a deep breath in and let it out several seconds later, suddenly unwilling to look Kensi in the eye.

Now what?

Kensi laughed and reached for the remote, flicking on the television. "Good talk, Deeks."

"No." He snatched the remote off her and turned the TV off again. "I'm serious. I let you off the hook last time, after our last...incident of this nature. But I'd like to talk."

"Okay." She nodded for him to go ahead but, once again, no words came.

Deeks hated that he could run his mouth off all day until a point came when he actually had something important to say, and then he had no words.

Silence engulfed the room for a good minute, until Deeks finally gave in and flicked the TV back on. "You're right, this was a bad idea."

Kensi snickered and took another bite of her burger.

It took Deeks a few minutes to realize he actually had no idea what on earth they were watching. He had something else entirely on his mind. Something he wasn't quite ready to name or talk about. So he forced himself to focus. An advertisement for an energy drink. Not too riveting, if he was being honest. It was blue. Surely a blue drink could not be good for anyone, right? And the amount of sugar it would take to—

"Is it bad if I say I was glad you kissed me today?"

Deeks blinked and turned to Kensi, eyes wide. "What?"

Surely he hadn't heard that correctly.

"Never mind." Kensi averted her eyes to the TV.

"No, hang on. What did—"

"I mean it's okay, right? We're partners. We're…close."

Deeks turned the TV off once again and angled his body to face Kensi. "You, uh... You wanted me to kiss you?"

She nodded slowly.

"Oh." He blinked and looked down at his lap, then back at her. "That's uh… That's—that's good to know. I can do it more often if you li—"

"Deeks."

"Sorry."

Kensi smiled and released a breathy laugh.

"If it helps, I wanted to kiss you today," Deeks ventured.

Her smile widened considerably at his words. It was a reaction he wasn't used to. Normally Kensi would opt for hitting him. Or rolling her eyes. Or completely ignoring him. But smiling at him? When he was talking about kissing her? That was foreign.

"I think I was jealous of Sandy."

Deeks felt his jaw drop at her revelation. "Well, you're just full of surprises tonight, aren't you?"

Kensi shrugged. "She was just so blatantly all over you. And not in a partnerly kind of way."

"Partnerly?"

"Yes. We're partnerly, you and me. She was just…over the top."

Deeks nodded, suddenly very unsure where this was going. He never could tell with Kensi Blye.

She continued, "but we're not just partners, right?"

Wow. Did she really just ask that?

"How many pain killers did I give you?"

"I'm not high, Deeks."

He chuckled. "I know. And no, we're not just partners."

"Good." Kensi nodded, seemingly satisfied. And Deeks thought that was all she was going to say. Until, "so what are we?"

And this time, Deeks nearly fell off his seat. She was on fire tonight. Asking all kinds of questions that would usually remain entirely unspoken. Where was all this coming from?

_Answer the question, Deeks._

_What's the answer again?_

"What do you mean, Kens?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You know what I mean, Deeks."

"No." He dared to place a hand lightly on her knee. "No, see I need you to tell me what you mean. 'Cause it seems like an important question and I don't want to answer it wrong. Or maybe it's not an important question and I'm completely misreading you in which case any answer I give could be totally awkward."

"I think you're over thinking it."

"What are we?" Deeks clarified her earlier question.

"Yes. What are we?"

"Um." Deeks looked in every direction but that one in which Kensi sat, until he forced himself to hold eye contact with her. He took a deep breath. "We're talking about our thing, right?"

She nodded with a ridiculously cute and slightly nervous smile.

"Okay, uh…see… Kens. Kensi. Fern. Sugar bear." He searched for the words that wouldn't get her upset at him. "I've um, imagined us having this conversation like a million different ways. And I don't want to look back on this moment and tell the grandchildren how we first discussed our feelings while sitting on your couch with your mouth full of cheeseburger."

She looked down at the cheeseburger in her hand and reached over, setting it down on the coffee table. "Okay."

Deeks was trying really hard to read her expression, but it was near impossible. At least at this point, he didn't think she was mad. Yet.

"Can I take you out tomorrow night maybe?"

"Are you asking me out on a date, Detective Deeks?"

"If that's okay with you, Agent Blye."

She shrugged, but her smile contradicted her nonchalant response. "That'd be okay, I guess."

Deeks grinned and turned his eyes back to the television. "I just got a date with Kensi Blye."

Kensi picked a cushion off the floor and shoved it at Deeks. He caught it as it bounced off his chest and tucked it behind him, unable to wipe the grin off his face.

Now the challenge was – spending the next few hours here and not thinking about the conversation they'd just had. Deeks had meant what he'd said. He had run through this scenario in his head a lot more than he'd care to admit. And he had a feeling he'd remember it for a long time. Kensi deserved that it be special.

If they both ended up confessing their undying love for one another – that'd be good. That'd work for him. And then they could spend the rest of their happily ever after remembering the wonderful date he took her on when that happened.

If she decided they were just partners who cared deeply about each other – well then he'd have some convincing to do. And this date would be the first step.

At least half an hour had passed since their conversation, and the air had become somewhat comfortable again. Deeks looked over at Kensi who was laughing at some mistake the host of whatever they were watching had made. Deeks realized he still had no idea what they were watching. Some singing show, maybe?

But then he had an idea.

…

Kensi wondered if Deeks had any idea what they were watching. She could tell by his body language that his focus was definitely on her and not on the TV. Not that she was complaining.

She could feel Deeks moving next to her, and she looked over at him. He was moving closer to her. Subtly, but surely. He was at least a few inches closer now than what he had been.

And then he yawned. A big yawn. Almost exaggerated. At first she frowned as she thought he might be tired enough to leave soon. But then he lifted his arms, accompanying his yawn with a stretch.

Kensi couldn't withhold a small smile as Deeks' right arm landed on the back of the couch, just behind her shoulders. And there it stayed for several minutes.

…

Deeks saw her smile when he pulled the old 'yawn and stretch'. She knew what he was up to. And she didn't seem to mind. So ever so slowly, he began to lower his arm towards her shoulders, all the while keeping his eyes on the screen.

When his arm made contact with her shoulders, he waited there for at least a minute before he sidled closer, letting his right hand drop so his fingers were now gently touching her right arm.

_Nice move, Deeks. Very nice._

…

He was being so gentle. Moving slowly and almost subtly. It was cute. It was so very Deeks. But Kensi knew she could go one better.

Without a word and without warning, she shuffled about a foot to the left and leaned her head against Deeks chest, wrapping one arm around his waist.

His arm tightened around her, and when she felt his lips pressed briefly against her hair, she knew she'd made the right move.

…

It had taken Deeks four tries before he reluctantly got up off the couch and walked over to the door. "I'll see you in the morning?"

Kensi reached for her crutches and hoisted herself off the couch with them, then joined him at the door. "Bright and early."

The smile on her lips was almost irresistible, and he had to force himself to open the door to leave.

"Sleep well, Deeks."

He turned back to her and took a brief moment to appreciate her. She was dressed in blue jeans and a light yellow t-shirt. Her hair fell in curls around her smiling face.

Deeks didn't even try to stop the appreciative smile that crossed his lips. Without a second thought, he leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

And with that, he left, closing the door behind him, unable to wipe the stupid grin off his face even if his life depended on it.

Yep. Marty Deeks was one lucky man.

**A/N: Hi! Yeah, I know, I know, I said this'd be the last chapter. But clearly it's not... so stay tuned! Anyway, thanks again for reading. I hope you liked this. A Kensi and Deeks who actually talk about their feelings is very hard to write! I hope I was able to keep them in character. Let me know what you think :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello again. So this chapter started a few months ago. And the season finale was the push I needed to finally finish it. To everyone who has read this story - thanks for being so patient with me! This one goes out to my fellow NCIS: LA fans who will be spending the next few months wallowing in fear, excitement, anxiety, and anticipation for the start of season 5.**

* * *

"You get Hetty's text?"

"Yep. Should we be worried?"

"With Hetty? Always. I'll pick you up on my way through."

"Thanks."

* * *

Kensi and Deeks both sat across from Hetty at her desk. Kensi was pretending to focus on her fingernails. Deeks was examining the detail on the light fixture above. And Hetty – Hetty was calmly, intently staring at her two agents. Well, her agent and… detective.

"Am I to understand neither of you have anything to say?" She finally broke the silence, causing both agents to look at her.

Deeks looked over at Kensi, then back at Hetty. "Is there something you'd like us to say?"

"Well, I would like to know why Agent Brookes picked up her belongings this morning and left the premises without a word. NCIS has acquired another agent to fill her position."

Kensi looked as surprised as Deeks felt. She'd left? She'd quit?

Deeks was the first to attempt to answer Hetty. "She never expressed any displeasure at the work we did."

"Mmm." Hetty was clearly skeptical. "And what about your little undercover display yesterday?"

Deeks tried and failed to suppress a grin. "Display?"

"You know very well to what I am referring, Mister Deeks."

Kensi winced, and if he wasn't mistaken, her cheeks seemed to turn a slightly deeper shade of pink.

"Yeah, that was my fault, Hetty," Deeks claimed. "We needed something quick and that was the first thing that came to mind."

"Interesting tactic."

"It worked, didn't it?" Deeks recalled a very similar conversation he and Kensi had a few months ago. Back then, she had refused to talk about it. And now… well she had initiated talking about it. That was a good sign, right?

Hetty was evidently satisfied with Deeks' answers as she shifted subjects. "Special Agent Paul Logan will be Agent Brookes' replacement."

Deeks groaned. "Can't Kensi be her replacement?"

"Hetty, I'm fine to go back out there. You don't need a replacement." Kensi insisted.

Hetty shook her head adamantly. "Not until your doctor clears you."

Kensi sighed, clearly frustrated, and turned to Deeks for support. The kind of support he wasn't quite ready to offer. "What do you want me to say, Kens? As much as I want my partner back, I don't want to put you in danger."

"I won't be in danger."

"You will be if you can't move properly out there."

"Deeks—"

"I'm afraid, Miss Blye, that Mr. Deeks doesn't have a say in the matter. You will remain on desk operations until you are medically cleared to return to the field."

Deeks knew that wouldn't sit well with Kens. She'd nod and say 'fine', but he'd pay for not defending her later. She wouldn't let him get away with it. He was sure about that.

* * *

"Kens, did you want some lunch?" Deeks looked up from his report and over to his pouting partner sitting across from him.

No reply.

"Kens?"

She flipped the page of whatever she was reading and continued ignoring him.

"Kensi?"

So she was giving him the silent treatment this time?

Challenge accepted.

Deeks stood from his desk chair and approached her, leaning both his palms on the desk and bending towards her. "You there?"

Briefly, and probably unintentionally, she glanced up at him and then returned her eyes to her work. Deeks leaned closer, realizing somewhere in the back of his mind that if she looked up right now, he would be dangerously close to being too close to her to control himself. "Kensi? Kensi-pie? Princess? Honey-bee? Sugarplum?"

Still no response.

Suddenly feeling even more daring than normal, Deeks lifted his right hand to her jaw, tenderly running his thumb along it before lifting her chin so that her eyes met his. He heard her breath catch when he touched her, and he had to force himself to keep their lips just a few inches apart as his fingers lingered softly on her jaw. He kept his voice low, almost a whisper, as he spoke. "You going to talk to me, sweetheart?"

Defying all of his expectations, Kensi leaned even closer to him. Instinctively, he drew back a few inches as she moved forward, but then he stopped. She was playing with him as much as he was with her. And he was determined to win this one.

She wasn't going to kiss him. He knew that. Not at work. She'd never take it that far. Would she?

"Kens…" He wasn't sure why he whispered her name. Maybe it was a warning. Because Deeks knew that if she did try to kiss him, he was not going to fight it. And that would get them both in trouble.

She leaned back into her seat, slowly withdrawing from him. He followed her for several inches, then forced himself to pull back and straighten.

A menacing smile crossed Kensi's mouth, and she bit her bottom lip teasingly.

Deeks sighed and shook his head, unable to keep the smile from his lips. He then retreated to his desk.

"You done now?" He asked her, hoping she'd given up on the whole silent treatment thing.

With a wide grin, Kensi returned to her work without responding.

"Okay then."

"Hey." A voice interrupted the continuing silence and both Kensi and Deeks turned in its direction.

"Paul." The man moved towards Deeks, hand outstretched, a friendly smile on his face.

Deeks stood and shook Paul's hand. "Deeks. I'm guessing you're the new Kensi?"

Paul laughed. "That's me."

Kensi also stood and stepped towards Paul as he turned in her direction.

"I'm guessing you're the original Kensi?" Paul smiled and shook her hand as well.

"Yeah. Good luck with this one." She said to Paul, nodding in Deeks' direction.

Paul responded with a laugh.

Kensi then excused herself, saying she was off to get lunch. Deeks watched as she left the room, her limp only barely noticeable today. He hoped it'd only be a week or so till he'd have her back. Wishful thinking maybe.

"You can put your stuff down here," Deeks said, gesturing to the desk that Sandy had yesterday occupied. "Has Hetty told you about the rest of the team?"

Paul nodded. "Yeah, a little bit. Callen and Sam, right?"

"Yep. They should be around here somewhere. And then there's Nell and Eric – our resident geniuses. They're probably upstairs. And then there's Kensi, who you already met."

"Man, if I had her for a partner, I'd never get any work done," Paul commented.

Deeks tried not to express his shock at the words as he stopped typing and looked up at Paul. "What was that?"

"Hey, I'm just saying."

"Yeah, well maybe don't." Deeks wasn't in the mood to deal with someone making stupid comments about his partner. He returned his eyes to his laptop screen to find a very eloquent 'jdhgdusj;ajeh' at the end of his last sentence. He backspaced and began trying to focus on his report, trying to decide how detailed he should be about the distraction method used by he and Kensi to help Callen out. Probably not very detailed. At all. That might be best.

An hour later, Paul had disappeared for some weapons orientation thing, and Kensi had returned to the desk opposite him. Still silent. But he noticed her looking up at him every minute or so.

Since she wasn't talking, Deeks picked up his phone and began to type. "Kens, you mad at me?"

She looked up at him after reading the message and also began texting. "Nope. Just punishing you."

"I'm being punished for protecting my partner. Makes sense."

"Your partner doesn't need protecting."

Deeks looked up at her. She was staring at him, elbows leaning on her desk. He felt like he was receiving a challenge of some sort. He just wasn't sure what he was being challenged to.

"Kens," he said out loud. "We still on for tonight?"

"I'm afraid not," came a reply. Just not a reply from the person he was expecting.

Deeks whirled around in his chair to find Hetty standing, arms crossed, behind him.

"Hetty—"

"Mister Deeks, Miss Blye, you are both required on an operation this evening. I do apologize, but any plans you have made will have to be postponed."

Deeks pointed a finger at Kensi. "She's required on an operation? I thought she—"

"It's merely a surveillance operation at this point, Mister Deeks."

"What are we surveiling?"

"Mister Beale is waiting for both of you in ops."

Kensi and Deeks both nodded and stood, immediately heading upstairs to hear their instructions.

* * *

They'd been sitting in the car for an hour, waiting for any sign of movement coming from the factory where a navy lieutenant's body had recently been found. Eric and Nell had set a devious trap to lure in whoever it was that killed their victim. And now it was up to Kensi and Deeks to lie in wait.

Hetty had assured them that the only reason Kensi was allowed on the field instead of Logan was that it was merely a stake-out which would require her to sit and wait, then call on Deeks and a nearby Logan to apprehend him if necessary.

Kensi looked at her watch again. Six-thirty. And no sign of him. Looks like whatever Deeks had planned for tonight was officially cancelled. And she was surprised at the level of disappointment she felt.

After another few minutes had passed, Deeks released an exaggerated groan. "Hetty is really cramping my style. I swear dates with me are usually a lot more fun than this."

Kensi looked over at Deeks and shrugged. "At least it's unique. No guy has ever taken me out on a date where we sit in a car for several hours without moving."

"I'm glad you're having fun then."

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far." Kensi grinned. After a beat of silence, she asked, "So is this a better story to tell the grandkids?"

That got a laugh out of Deeks. "'Hey kids, want to hear about the time Grandpa sat in a car for several hours watching Nana eat Twinkies?' That'll be the story of their childhood."

"Nana?" Kensi grimaced. "No one will ever call me 'Nana'. I'm so not a 'Nana' person."

"Oh? What are you then? Grandma? Granny?"

"I feel like I have little time to decide." Kensi still couldn't believe they were talking about this. "Besides, aren't there other things we should talk about first?"

Deeks shrugged innocently. "Like what?"

"I don't know." Kensi tilted her head.

"Honestly can't think of anything?"

"Nope."

"Shame."

Kensi rolled her eyes. He was going to do this the hard way, wasn't he? Not that there really was an easy way. Never had been with the two of them. But she had to know what he stopped himself from saying last night. What it was that was so important that it couldn't be said on the couch in her living room.

She looked over at him and studied the features she'd gotten to know so well over the last couple of years. He was thinking deeply about something. Lines creased his forehead and his lips were pursed tightly. A very strong part of her wished she could see or hear what was going on in his head. Another part of her wondered if it might scare her too much. Or disappoint her.

"It's getting increasingly difficult to pretend I haven't noticed you staring at me." Deeks commented, a small smile on his lips.

"What are you thinking about?" Kensi ventured.

He didn't answer at first. It was as if he was deciding whether or not he should. "I don't know if you want to know, Kens."

It was a rare moment when he answered an uncomfortable question seriously, no attempts at humor or distraction. He was serious this time though. And the look in his eyes when he turned to her was unnerving.

"Why wouldn't I want to know?"

The look on his face clearly conveyed the fact that he had no idea how to answer her question. But she wasn't gonna start going easy on him now.

"Because I think the idea of having someone who genuinely cares about you scares you. And I'm not keen on scaring you away."

That somewhat answered her question. He was thinking about her. Thinking about how he cared for her maybe? Men were confusing. Usually, Deeks would never shut up. Now, he wouldn't talk to her. Not properly anyway. Usually, he was the one pushing and prodding into this thing of theirs. Now, she was the one asking questions and he didn't seem to want to answer them.

She hesitated for several minutes before saying, "I don't think I'm as scared as I used to be."

He turned back to her, eyes wide, a small smile growing on his lips. "You really want to do this now, Kens? On a stake-out? At work? You want to talk about us?"

"Seems fitting. We met at work. Got to know each other at work."

"Had our first kiss at work," he added in, just to annoy her.

Choosing not to get annoyed, she responded with, "and our second."

He had to laugh at that response.

"Come, on Deeks." She turned so that her whole body was facing his direction. "Aren't you tired of this? Let's just… I just want to… Can we just…"

She rolled her eyes in frustration at the words that weren't coming, and at the fact that he wasn't helping her out even a little bit. In fact, he seemed amused by her struggle.

"I'm finding you very adorable right now."

She narrowed her eyes.

"A death glare? Really, Kens? Not the most convincing way to seduce me, but I suppose—"

"You're disgusting."

"Okay. Mhhmm. I call you 'adorable' and I get 'disgusting'? You sure know how to talk to a man, don't ya, sweet-cheeks?"

"Why are you being annoying?"

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "You know I'm not good at this."

She allowed a small smile to escape to her lips. "I know. Me either."

"I—uh… I don't know if I can do this."

Disappointment washed over her. "Do what?"

He ran a hand through his hair and leaned his head back against the headrest of the car. Then he turned to her. "Be… enough for you."

Enough for her? He was more than enough for her! So much more than she'd ever dared to wish for. But somehow, she couldn't find a way to say that out loud in a way she knew would convince him.

"What do you think it is that I want?" She asked, the question surprising even herself.

"I don't know if you've noticed, Kens, but I have a tendency to mess things up. I honestly don't know what it is you want, but I don't know why I'd be it."

"But you are it. All of it. All that I want."

And there it was. She couldn't believe she'd said it. Those words that had been on her lips for so long.

She'd finally said it.

* * *

Deeks was stunned. Did she really just say that? Did he imagine that? Were they really talking about this?

What was he supposed to say?

_Think, man. Think._

_I love you._

No. No way. Too soon for that.

_Marry me?_

He needed to pull his head together. Fast.

But Kensi's voice interrupted his undeveloped thoughts. She had her fingers pressed against the earwig in her left ear. "Suspect just appeared around the corner. He's heading in. We'll follow him."

Deeks blinked. Work. They were at work. He could murder this suspect for his untimely interruption.

He reached his arm across to Kensi's waist as she moved to leave the car, pulling her back into her seat. "No, you don't." He switched his on earwig on. "Logan, did you get that?"

"Copy. Let's get in there."

Deeks turned back to Kensi and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You stay here. You don't leave this car. Got it?"

With a simple nod, Kensi responded. "Yeah. I got it."

And then Deeks left. Left behind the best chance he'd had to tell this woman how he felt.

_Hang in there, Kens. We will talk about this eventually._

* * *

When Deeks finally returned to the car, Kensi was standing outside of it, leaning against the door.

"I'm guessing it went well?"

"Yep. We've got him in custody." He paused and walked around the car to where she was standing. "Thanks, Kens."

She raised an eyebrow. "For…?"

"For staying put."

She shrugged in response, like it was no big deal.

Forcing himself not to think twice about his next move, Deeks stepped forward and reached for her waist, wrapping both arms firmly around her. Moments later, she finally responded, reaching up and circling his neck with her own arms. His lips fell to her neck and rested there as he pulled her tighter still.

This felt like home. Like this was where they both belonged. And he found himself wondering if, should they become a real couple, they could end every assignment like this.

Pulling back just a little, till her lips were touching his ear, he could feel her breath on his skin as she spoke softly. "I really hate to ruin this. But we're getting some interesting looks from Callen, Sam and Logan."

"Mmm." Deeks didn't have interest in any of those names right now. "Odd."

He felt her breathe a laugh and forced himself to loosen his hold on her. They both wondered over to their fellow team members, neither failing to notice the smirks on Callen's and Sam's faces.

"You two okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Kensi shrugged as though she had no idea what he was referring to. "Howcome?"

Sam began to respond, but Callen interrupted. "Nothing. Good work in there, Deeks."

"Thanks."

"Hetty said to take the rest of the night off. Reports can wait till morning."

Finally some good news!

"Thank-you, Hetty!" Deeks exclaimed.

"Amen," agreed Callen.

He and Kensi both headed back to the car.

"I'm driving." She stated, holding her hand out to Deeks expectantly.

He took the keys from his pocket and dangled them in his fingers. "Not without keys, missy."

"Give 'em to me, Deeks."

"Ask nicely, darling."

She stepped toward him and swiped at the keys, but he was quick. Too quick for her.

"Deeks. Give me the keys."

"Come on, sweetheart, you can do better than that." He stepped closer to her, daring her to grab at them. And she did. But not before he moved his hand behind his back.

With both hands, she reached around him for the keys, and Deeks felt a sense of pride at the position he'd accidentally put them in.

"Baby, if you wanted another hug, you just had to ask."

She stepped back and glared at him as he winked at her.

_So, so cute._

"Deeks—"

"Just say please."

"Please, Deeks."

But he had to keep pushing.

"Come on, princess. 'Deeks' is all I ever get from you. Try something creative."

She turned and took three steps away, before whirling around. "I can't believe you're making me do this."

For a brief moment, he considered back down. He considered the fact that she might not be enjoying this as much as he was. But he'd let it go on just a little longer.

She took a breath and rolled her eyes as she released it. "Please, give me the keys, Marty."

Deeks raised his eyebrows. "Marty. Interesting. Weird hearing it from you. You can do better than that."

"Well, what do you want me to call you?"

Now he was getting somewhere.

"Let's try _honey_."

"No."

"_Sweetheart_."

"Not going to happen."

"Hey, you're the one insisting we talk about our relationship. This is what people in relationships do, baby girl."

"I should just shoot you in the hand."

"Just try it. Come on, Kens. Repeat after me. _Please, honey, could you give me the keys?_"

She released what sounded like some sort of strange mix between a groan, a growl, and a scowl. Then she finally relented, speaking each word like it was a language she was completely unfamiliar with. "Please, honey…" She released a loud breath, pursed her lips, then continued. "Could you give me the keys?"

He wanted desperately to kiss her for that. But he was already pushing his luck. He did allow a broad smile to show on his lips though. "Of course, dear."

He threw keys towards her and she caught them, jumping straight into the driver's side of the car. Deeks jumped in also, still smiling triumphantly.

Once they were both in, she placed the keys in the ignition. But she didn't start the car. Instead she turned towards him, reached her hand over and placed it softly on his thigh, a sweet smile painted across her beautiful lips. "You're going to regret that, sweetheart.

He knew that. Of course he did. But it was so, so worth it.

"I know, Kens. I know."

* * *

**A/N: I do realise they still haven't talked. I refused, for a long while, to post this chapter until they had. But it got very long, and it still hadn't come, and I thought you might like to read what I have so far. Don't worry, this isn't over. Hang in there with me. I'll get there. I'd love to hear what you think :)**


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